章 234: Chapter 232: Tragic
The deep night shrouded the earth, and the dense jungle revealed a frightening gloom and depression.
Fortunately, hundreds of bonfires held up a ray of light, blocking the darkness from the army camp.
"Who?" The soldier on guard at night was alerted by the movement above his head. Just as he pulled out the scimitar from his waist, he saw a huge shadow covering him.
The bonfires around them suddenly rose and jumped, as if to welcome and pay tribute.
"Lord Caesar!" The soldier finally saw the Dragon clearly, quickly put away his knife, and leaned down to salute.
Samwell jumped off the dragon's back, nodded to the soldiers, and asked, "Where is the commander's tent?"
"I'll take you there."
"Okay.". It really takes a lot of effort to find this place in dark.
Cleopatra seemed to be paralyzed from exhaustion, lying on the ground unwilling to move.
Samwell had no choice but to pat her head: "Okay, just stay here and rest. You've had a hard day today."
After giving some instructions to the vigilant soldiers, Samwell headed towards the army camp.
Earl Randyll was still awake and was looking at the terrain map in a daze.
After seeing Samwell come in, he stood up and asked, "Why are you back so late?"
Samwell didn't waste any time and directly shared the latest information he had discovered, saying, "I have discovered Lannister reinforcements! They are heading south from the King's Road and have just arrived at the Wendwater River. There are fifty or sixty thousand people by visual inspection."
"Fifty or sixty thousand?" Earl Randyll was also startled by this number, but then he frowned, "Where did the Lannister family get so many soldiers? Did they ignore the threat from the north?"
"I captured two prisoners, and they said most of them were the new soldiers that Kevan urgently recruited from King's Landing.
I also went to see them in person. It is true that the military discipline is very bad, and the weapons and equipment are not fully equipped. It should be a new army cobbled together temporarily, and it will not have much combat effectiveness."
"That makes sense." Earl Randyll stood up from his position, paced back and forth in the camp, and said, "It seems that Kevan is planning to use this new army to defend the city and, reduce the population pressure on King's Landing. Without the support of the two major granaries from Riverland and the Reach, the Lannister family's current supply of food and supplies must be very tight."
"Yes, father. I think we should decisively abandon Felwood City to intercept this new army heading south. They are vulnerable in the wild, but if we let them hide behind the city wall, I am afraid it will cause us great trouble."
After Earl Randyll thought for a moment, he slowly shook his head: "Felwood City really cannot be targeted anymore, but our marching direction cannot be changed, and we continue to go east."
Samwell said in confusion: "But the king's army is in the northeast of us..."
As soon as he said this, he realized something and asked, "Father, do you plan to go east first and then north?"
"Yes." Earl Randyll nodded, "Going east can leave the Kingswood as quickly as possible. This is the first goal of our march and cannot be changed because of the emergence of new enemies. But after leaving this Forest, we will no longer attack Felwood City. Instead, we will change our route to the north and go to Bronzegate City to intercept the king's army heading south."
"Will this be too late?"
"But this is the safest way." Earl Randyll emphasized, "Don't forget the troubles you are solving because of the emergence of new troubles.
The Kingswood is still too dangerous for us, and we must pass through with caution. Moreover, since the enemy also knows that we know their existence, the subsequent harassment by the Stormlanders will only become more intense. When the army leaves the Kingswood, you will lead all the Reach Cavalry to the north to harass the King's army and delay their entry into the Bronzegate City."
" Delaying? And then wait for you to lead the army to launch a joint attack?" Samwell asked,
"I'm worried that the king's army will already enter the city before you arrive."
"You can decide whether to launch an attack. Although the king's army is small in number, but if your previous intelligence is accurate, the combat effectiveness should also be very poor. You can try it out to see if you can find a breaking point."
"Okay!" Samwell nodded heavily, with determination in his eyes.
...
In the next few days, the Reach army faced increasingly fierce attacks.
The number of Stormland light cavalry dispatches and the number of attacks had obviously increased, and sometimes they even tried to harass camps at night.
However, night operations are inherently risky for cavalry, especially in jungles with complex environments. War horses dare not run at full speed, and they are also extremely vulnerable to injuries from potholes on the ground. The Stormlanders intentionally created noise and tension, trying to prevent the Reach soldiers from getting a good rest.
Earl Randyll then arranged the camp in two circles inside and outside. The outer circle was responsible for guarding, while the soldiers in the inner circle all plugged their ears and tried to get some sleep.
Three days passed like this. Seeing that the Reach army was about to exit the Kingswood, the Stormlanders grew increasingly anxious.
"We must stop the Reach army!" Lord Harwood Fell shouted.
The lord of Bronzegate City had a horse face, and his beard and long hair were grey-brown, messy and dense, like overgrown weeds.
"I'm afraid they can't be stopped," Sir Quinta Buckler from Bronzegate City looked melancholy.
"We must block them even if we can't! We can't let the Reach army enter our territory!" Earl Harwood spat out his frustration at Sir Quinta.
"Lord Harwood is right," Count Arstan Selmy said.
The Earl of Harvest Hall was the nephew of Barristan Selmy, the famous captain of the Kingsguard. This time he was ordered by the Duke of Storm's End to lead the northern nobles of the Stormlands to resist the Northern Army of the Reach. Although he was not as famous as his uncle, he still had rich experience in leading troops in combat.
"Don't take any chances," Earl Arstan solemnly reminded, "Once the Reach army captures your castles, they will not return them to you. Therefore, this time you are not fighting for Duke Edric. We are not fighting for King Tommen, but fighting for your own castle, territory, and title."
These rather explicit remarks made all the Stormland nobles feel determined.
"For the Stormlands!" Earl Harwood roared upon seeing this.
"For the Stormlands!"
"For the Stormlands!"
Finally, the Stormland nobles decided to fight.
Just after noon, this jungle-blocking battle reached its climax.
The Stormlanders no longer sent only light cavalry to harass but pressed their entire army forward. Arrows rained down like a storm upon the Reach army.
The Reach soldiers were prepared for this. The sword and shield infantry on the outer circle raised their shields and maintained a steady, slow advance.
Archers followed closely behind, returning fire while continuing to move forward.
Even though they slowed down, Earl Randyll insisted on advancing, prioritizing the goal of leaving the Kingswood as quickly as possible.
As they moved forward, there were occasional gaps in the shield wall, leading to casualties due to the dense arrow fire. Still, they did not stop their advance.
The Stormlanders, seeing that their rain of arrows couldn't halt the Reach army, began to change their formation.
Flags waved, drums thundered, and the archers fell back, while sword and axe infantry moved forward, preparing for a charge.
Observing this, Earl Randyll issued a new command: "All cavalry must gather in formation. The entire army slows down but must not halt."
As the order spread, the Stormlanders began their charge. In such charges, the initial wave usually consisted of less-equipped soldiers, acting as cannon fodder to absorb enemy arrows and probe for weaknesses in their formation. It was a cruel tactic, but a common one in this era.
Samwell noticed that few of the Stormlanders in this initial charge wore armour, likely being civilians who had been hastily recruited.
Despite their simple training, their sheer numbers made this charge considerable.
For such a charge to occur, it indicated the Stormlanders had invested heavily in this endeavour.
The Reach army aimed to maintain their formation and not succumb to chaos.
If they could do so, the Stormlanders would eventually exhaust themselves through their heavy casualties.
In this charge, it was evident that many Stormlanders were entering the formation, and the fighting turned even bloodier. Reach crossbowmen also joined the melee, wearing leather armour and using their bows as melee weapons.
The Stormlanders, now in close combat, disrupted the long-distance killing efficiency of the Reach army.
More of them managed to breach the formation, making the battle increasingly brutal.
[END]
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