Jon had developed two types of wildfire in recent years, as well as finding flaws in those made by the Alchemists' Guild in Kingsland. Jon had previously improved his own wildfire, making it more unstable. However, some of his research in Artica led him to produce a new blue-colored substance, which he named Wildfire Type 2. It was not only different in color but also showed a much greater destructive power, doubling the range of the explosion. This was evident with the blue liquid at 600 meters, which even dispersed the fog covering the dead.
The first wildfire he produced, Type 1, was basic. Although it was less destructive, it still had its uses in attacks to delay the enemy without much explosive range. When Jon saw the flame reach the Wildfire Type 1 at 300 meters, his eyes reflected the light of the explosion, giving off a peculiar green along with the emerald colors already present in his eyes.
The explosion was smaller than the first, but still devastating, eliminating more than 2,000 enemies. As the fire burned the creatures, the rest of the army of the dead continued to advance. Being a non-coordinated group, they were easy to deal with using the right tools. Jon, mounted on Ghost, remained steady and focused, commanding his troops for the battle they would clash in the next minutes.
"Switch to Articarian wall formation!" Jon shouted, and the platoon leaders began giving orders, and the army began to move, switching the place of humans with giants standing in front as a wall. Jon left there and reached a higher place while the dead continued to advance.
"Archers! Prepare, fire!" Jon gave the order, and now the humans, wielding weirwood bows, launched dragon glass arrows, reaching 200 meters, killing the first lines of the undead.
"Again!" Jon ordered, and they shot at 150 meters, wiping out another line.
"Wall formation! Prepare for impact!" Jon shouted, and giant shields formed a single front as they were placed on the ground, creating a massive barrier.
"Archers, keep shooting, dwarf formation protecting the flanks!" Jon ordered, and the dwarves prepared with their hammers.
The undead ran against the giant shields, hitting them hard, and those who followed soon crashed behind them, forming a wave of bodies scattered by the impact of the charge. The giants remained immovable behind the shields while the enemy tried unsuccessfully to breach the defense.
While human archers continued to launch dragon glass arrows, killing more than 1,000 of them, the dwarves took the sides. The dead tried to flank the giants, but were met by hammers with dragon glass at the door, and the dwarves, using the strength of their arms, were quick in their devastating attacks on the crowd of the dead.
"Hahaha! Come on, you deceased, let's kill all of you!" said a dwarf, laughing in the sea of dead as he swung his hammer.
The battle continued fiercely, with Jon's army repelling the attacks of the dead effectively. Jon's strategy, combining the use of giant bows, Wildfire, and the unique abilities of his army, was turning the tide in favor of the living, who had already lost most of their army before reaching the giants.
In the midst of the fight, Jon spotted the White Walkers on their horses crossing the battlefield.
"Articarian attack formation!" Jon gave another order, and the giants moved their shields suddenly and grabbed special spears made with dragon glass, starting to attack all the undead falling to the ground due to the mounds formed by the shield defense in the center of the battlefield.
They advanced among the dead, eliminating them. Jon wanted to eliminate the White Walkers and could easily do so with the giants. He didn't stand still, taking a potion, he drank it, knowing that he couldn't deal with those creatures easily, he would take something to help him in the fight and advanced with Ghost, raising the Dark Sister.
"Full attack!" Jon shouted, leading the other humans who switched their bows for swords and shields made of Elden metal and dragon glass.
Jon advanced among the dead while the giants finished off most of them as they advanced. Ghost cut down some of the dead who were still fighting, but they didn't harm him as he had his armor, and then the humans cut down the rest of them before helping the giants on the front line.
On the other side, the beings controlling the army of the dead finally began to realize that they were losing control of the situation. Their eyes, normally cold and calculating, now showed a glimpse of uncertainty and fear, now that they saw a group of giants and a boy breaking through the last lines between them and the advancing group. Jon, noticing this change, couldn't help but smile at witnessing the fear in his once unshakable adversaries.
As Ghost galloped fearlessly, making his way among the undead, Jon quickly grabbed a bow attached to the wolf's armor. His fingers moved skillfully and precisely, preparing dragon glass arrows, a lethal weapon against the White Walkers and their steeds.
With impressive dexterity, Jon fired three consecutive arrows, each hitting its target with deadly accuracy. The horses of the White Walkers, spectral and shadowy creatures, let out piercing screams as they were hit by the arrows, falling to the ground and throwing their riders into the cold night wind.
The White Walkers had no choice but to await the attack of those approaching giants with the boy on the wolf. Jon didn't let Ghost advance further with him on top and jumped off Ghost onto one of the White Walkers on the right.
Seeing the child jumping on him, the Walker had no choice but to try to destroy his sword and kill the boy, but as soon as the metal touched in the air, a metallic sound emerged, and the White Walker had to retreat with the weight of Jon falling on him. The White Walker was initially confused, as the boy's sword could repel his without being destroyed.
Meanwhile, a group of giants with dragon glass spears began to fight the White Walkers despite being 4 or 5 against one at that moment, the White Walkers managed to resist with their dragon glass spears.
But little by little, they began to lose the fight and retreat. They managed to wound some giants, but eventually fell under the pressure, being hit by the dragon glass, falling like shattered ice.
On the other side, Jon and Ghost fought together against the creature, with Ghost trying to distract it while Jon fought with it. The battle was swift, and Jon could only keep up with the monster with his potion taking effect, enhancing his strength, speed, and reflex. He called this potion the Wolf Potion, which seemed to give him an animalistic aspect, but it greatly helped in battles he normally couldn't win, and as long as he didn't take too many at once, the side effects were limited to just body pain and fatigue the next day.
The fight continued with the dance of Valyrian steel and ice. At one moment, Ghost managed to get close and sink his teeth into the shoulder of the White Walker, giving Jon an opportunity to attack, and he didn't waste time striking the ice man in the chest, making him dissolve into thousands of pieces of ice.
The remaining dead against the Artican soldiers soon fell motionless to the ground, ending the battle with a deadly silence after all those screams.
"Did we win?" A dwarf asked, kicking the undead he was fighting at that moment to see if it would rise again.
"I think so..." said the dwarf beside him.
"Shouldn't we celebrate then?"
"Yes, we should."
"I understand..."
"..."
"..."
"WE WON!!!!" Both shouted together after a while.
The sound of victory echoed through the Artican army, while the sound of green flames still burned in the distance. The group of people in greenish metal seemed to celebrate among the humans, dwarves, and giants; no one was left out of the celebration.
The battle, although brutal, was a testament to the power and determination of the Artican army. Under Jon's leadership, they not only withstood the attack of the undead but also defeated them with impeccable initial strategy and impressive firepower. Followed by a close battle, the victory was almost perfect. Unfortunately, Jon went to the group of giants and saw one of them fallen on the ground, struck down by the White Walker he fought. There was a report that a dwarf died and 2 men also fell in battle against the dead.
Despite being an overwhelming and proud victory for any commander, Jon still felt the loss and didn't want anyone to have died in his illusion, but this is the real world and he still had to command everyone.
"Take care of the dead, drive a dragon glass blade into their chests, so they won't transform and we'll take them to their families in Artica. Now let's burn all these dead until the end of the night," Jon said with some pain.
As dawn rose in the sky, dispelling the darkness of the night, piles of undead were burned in that field, which was a hell until a moment ago. In the camp, everyone who joined the group was shocked by the victory of the Artican soldiers; in the end, Jon hadn't lied about fighting, and everyone knew they had destroyed a group of over 10,000 undead.
They celebrated for the rest of the day, looking at the soldiers in EldenMetal with admiration, with many single women trying to steal men and even Artican dwarves over the next few days.
While Arya, Ygritte, and Wind were with Jon, he finally decided to leave there.
"We'll leave at dawn, it's time to return to Artica," he said, and they began to break camp to leave the next day.
The journey to Artica wasn't very difficult. Jon followed the order they established, and as no one wanted to mess with such a large group, they were unbothered, with no more signs of the dead on the way, and even some tribes joined them, forming another 1,000 people.
It was then that they finally saw Artica hidden among the mountains, everyone saw the great weirwood at the center of what would be a large city under construction. If the new intrigues of the kingdoms were surprised by the combat capability of the army, seeing what Artica was left them even more amazed, many thanking the old gods for such a land. After all, unlike all the places around it, Artica had no ice but green vegetation.
"By the gods?! What is that thing? What kind of color is that?" Tormunt exclaimed, having never seen the color green in his life.
"That's what we see in the southern kingdoms, especially the most fertile ones," Jon said, thinking of the reach administered by the Tyrells.
"Seriously, besides stone houses, the kneelers have this too?" Ygritte asked alongside.
"It's so beautiful, isn't it?!" Wind said excitedly.
"This is incredible..." Arya had a sparkle in her eyes, eager to approach the city.
"Seems like my friend came to greet me..." Jon murmured, and soon a deep sound appeared in the air, and a bird the size of a horse spread its wings, covering the sun.
"Caraxes!" Jon exclaimed as the great eagle landed a few meters away, startling those who didn't know it.
"PIII!"
"ROARR"
As Caraxes made a sound, Eragon also shouted at the white bird.
"Is this Caraxes from your song, Jon?!" Arya exclaimed in admiration, looking at the largest eagle she had ever seen.
"Yes, he is my oldest friend," Jon said proudly. After petting his eagle, he resumed the march of the army.
Jon of Artica, after a series of impressive victories and demonstrations of his power and leadership, led his army and new residents of the kingdom back to Artica.
"This place is really as you said, my boy. To think that such a place exists..." Meistre Aemon couldn't help but murmur.
"Indeed, the boy didn't lie!" Old Nan clapped, "Look at that giant tree! I never imagined the gods would be so generous and give us such a tree in the mortal world!" She exclaimed.
"Hodor..." Hodor seemed equally amazed.
The nation that was once just a tribe had grown exponentially, becoming a powerful and diverse kingdom in just a few years, with a population that now exceeded 60,000 members. This nation, now comprised of humans, giants, Children of the Forest, dwarves, direwolves and normal wolves, bears, shadow cats, mammoths, and a variety of birds, represented an unprecedented union of different races and species, each contributing their unique abilities and strengths.
The return to Artica was marked by celebrations as soon as the group was spotted, and their king had returned, and a palpable feeling of hope took over the hearts of all Articans. The new members of the kingdom were amazed by the lush and fertile green land, an oasis in the midst of the icy north, as they walked through the green vegetation to reach the city. This land, now home to a thriving and diverse society, promised a future full of possibilities for all, far from the dangers and hardships they all faced.
The nation of Artica is composed of the following members:
- Humans: 42,500
- Giants: 4,300
- Children of the Forest: 52
- Dwarves: 13,000
- Direwolves: 500
- Normal Wolves: 1,200
- Bears: 400
- Shadow Cats: 300
- Mammoths: 400
- Birds: 480
With the triumphant return to Artica, the kingdom is now in a position to further strengthen its defenses and expand its influence. Jon, with his vision of a dystopian future, promises a future where Artica will not only survive but thrive, challenging the old conventions of the known world and bringing a new era of peace and prosperity to his people, shocking the world in the coming years.