Chapter 419

Jaime couldn’t understand Euron’s abrupt decision to retreat. Suspecting a trick, he didn’t hesitate to shield the last of his capable soldiers as they pulled back from the shore. From a distance, he watched Euron and his men push their longships back into the freezing water, board them, and row away into the darkness of Icebay.

Had they really retreated?

It was plausible that Euron’s original goal had been to disrupt Icebay Port’s production, burn two warships, and destroy several warehouses. With those objectives achieved, retreating while ahead made some sense. But the port was still crawling with scattered Ironborn forces, and Euron held a decisive advantage. Why flee so hastily?

Jaime didn’t have to wonder long. The reason for Euron’s sudden retreat became clear: Icebay Port had been saved—by deserters. More precisely, by the first wave of soldiers retreating from the eastern canyon defenses.

Since Icebay Port had been unable to send reinforcements according to the defensive protocol, the western quarter of the canyon’s frontlines collapsed first. Many soldiers, hastily abandoning their positions after using only a fraction of their dragonglass weapons, left their comrades to die while fleeing to the port. Ironically, their cowardice provided unintentional aid.

When dozens of retreating soldiers appeared on the eastern mountain path holding torches, the Ironborn besieging the walls mistook them for Night’s Watch reinforcements. Already struggling to breach the defenses, they panicked and fled the battlefield.

The east gate was opened to regroup the retreating canyon soldiers. Their dragonglass weapons were swapped for conventional arms, and Icebay Port’s commander led this hastily assembled force back toward the harbor. While the unit’s fighting capacity was questionable, the display of numbers alone was enough to intimidate Euron Greyjoy. Unaware of the canyon’s collapse, Euron abandoned his scattered raiders within the port and withdrew in haste.

In a bitter twist, the defense protocol was reversed: instead of Icebay Port sending reinforcements to the canyon, retreating canyon soldiers inadvertently saved the port.
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Euron’s retreat sealed the fate of the remaining Ironborn in the port. After burning the remaining longships on the beach, the reorganized defenders methodically cleared out the raiders scattered throughout the fortress.

Fortunately, Icebay Port housed no civilians, meaning there were no casualties beyond the fighting forces. The fortress itself, however, lay in ruins. Half the port was aflame, one of its three new warships was utterly destroyed, and another was burning, saved only by its recent launch, which left it lightly stocked with wildfire. Only the flagship Running Wolf remained intact, thanks to its veteran crew. The grain stores were mostly destroyed, and the dozens of tons of shipbuilding lumber painstakingly gathered from across the North were reduced to ashes.

Still, there was a silver lining: the shipyard’s core facilities were intact. The Northern soldiers stationed there had fulfilled their mission, shielding the craftsmen and tools vital to the North’s naval ambitions. Despite the chaos elsewhere, the shipyard’s key personnel and equipment were unharmed—perhaps the only positive outcome of the raid.
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But not everyone saw it that way.

The Ironborn raiding party was relatively small. With better troop management, the defenders could have avoided heavy losses. Jaime’s forces had successfully reclaimed much of the port, but the fight against Euron had come at a steep price: nearly half his men were dead or wounded. This included the fifty Westerlands knights Jaime had personally brought, now reduced to just over twenty. Furious, Jaime turned his ire on the Northern forces who had stayed holed up in the shipyard.

“I sent for you to help! Why didn’t you come? If the fortress had fallen, what good would protecting the shipyard have done?” Jaime roared, his face red with anger, veins bulging as he glared at the Northern commander. Exhaustion held him back from physically lashing out.

“Ser Jaime, please calm yourself,” the Northern commander replied. “The North has few skilled shipwrights. Burned buildings and grain can be replaced, but lives cannot. Protecting the shipyard was our highest priority.”

“Bullshit!” Jaime snapped. “Northern lives matter, but the lives of my Westerlands men don’t? You just wanted to watch me die while you stayed safe in there!”

“Ser, control yourself. We respect the bravery of you and your men, but we won’t stand for baseless accusations!” The Northern commander, innocent of any ill intent, responded sharply. The long-standing tension between the two groups erupted into a heated argument, with neither side willing to back down. Not even the Icebay Port commander could diffuse the situation.
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The internal conflict was interrupted by the Ironborn fleet, which resumed its long-range bombardment. The raiders’ ships, armed with trebuchets, loitered at the edge of their range, hurling projectiles at the port. While the attack appeared aggressive, it was merely a distraction. The real goal was to cover the retreat of the remaining raiders.

Earlier, the Ironborn fleet had hesitated to approach due to the devastating wildfire defenses. But as the chaos unfolded in the port, they had crept closer, preparing for one final round of destruction. When Euron’s signal fire blazed on the horizon, they unleashed their payload, sending flaming projectiles crashing into the fortress.

Despite depleted ammunition and scattered defenses, the Night’s Watch managed to rally. After nearly an hour of exchanging fire, they used their remaining wildfire munitions to drive off the fleet, ending the Ironborn assault.
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The defense of Icebay Port was over, but the aftermath loomed heavy. Fires still raged, prisoners needed processing, the wounded required care, and bodies had to be disposed of. Yet these pressing tasks were overshadowed by an even greater threat: the collapse of the canyon’s defenses.

The retreating soldiers who had inadvertently saved Icebay Port also heralded a grim reality—the canyon, vital to the Night’s Watch defense, was now compromised. With even one section breached, the entire line was effectively lost.

After salvaging what supplies they could, the defenders turned their attention to the inevitable: preparing for the army of the dead.