At the hour of the wolf, Gendry saw a burst of firelight break the stillness of the night sky. Ser Marq and Bluebeard's men had loosed arrows dipped in lamp oil. The battle had begun.
On the calm waters of the Green Fork, Seagard's small boats skimmed silently across the river, drawing close to the arch bridge. The Water Tower sprawled across the bridge like some monstrous beast, fitted with arrow slits, murder holes, and iron portcullises. But at this moment, the portcullises had not yet been lowered. That was their chance.
Lord Jason gave a slight wave of his hand. Seagard's sharpshooters had already raised their longbows, and their first arrows flew toward the scattered, exhausted House Frey soldiers at both ends of the bridge. Those men wore blue steel ringmail with silver-gray cloaks. Most of them still held torches in their hands. The bitter night dragged on, and they were waiting for the смена of the watch. This was when they were at their slackest.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"
The arrows tore through the silence of the dark, and the Frey soldiers holding torches dropped soundlessly to the ground, as if they had simply fallen asleep.
One by one, the torches were thrown onto the bridge. The long bridge became like the throat of some beast, slowly sinking into darkness.
"Move."
At once, Seagard's blue-purple-clad soldiers swept onto both ends of the arch bridge, whose entrances lay within the heavily guarded inner castle. As they climbed onto the bridge, they stamped out the torches underfoot, and the last dim glow quickly faded. Ropes with grappling hooks were hurled onto the bridge, and nimble soldiers scrambled up at once. Then more ropes were thrown down for the men behind them.
Lord Jason led Seagard's indigo-robed soldiers straight toward the portcullis of the Water Tower, like hawks spreading their wings. The men split apart. Some charged for the inner gates on either side of the bridge, while Lord Jason personally moved to seize the Water Tower.
"Enemy attack!"
The House Frey soldiers in the Water Tower first saw the torches on the bridge going out one by one, and all traces of drowsiness vanished from them at once. Then the sentries saw a mass of shadows surging forward. However tired they were, they understood immediately. This was a night assault.
But by then, it was already too late, because the portcullis had been left open for the night shift change.
"What's going on?" Lord Walder's bastard son, Ronel Rivers, asked in alarm. All he had seen was the torches at both ends of the bridge going dark, followed by an unbroken stream of black shapes.
"It's an enemy attack. Close the portcullis, quickly!"
"Close the portcullis!"
Ronel Rivers ordered the alarm bell rung, but Seagard's soldiers had already burst into the Water Tower from both sides of the gate.
"Fast! Fast! Fast!" Lord Jason shouted.
The entire Water Tower was swiftly brought under Seagard's control. Their soldiers drew longbows and crossbows alike.
Lord Jason swung the longsword in his hand, and his elite infantry charged with him straight into the Water Tower.
His blade sang with death. He aimed for the gaps in their armor and drove his sword in. If he spotted a man who had rushed out without putting on his helm, he simply took his head off.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The hiss of arrows brought death with it. Blue steel ringmail or not, at close range the arrows still punched into flesh, into heads and torsos. Some Frey soldiers died while trying to dodge or flee. Others tumbled into the deep river below.
Lord Jason Mallister stormed up the tower and came face-to-face with the bastard Ronel. That weasel-faced look made it obvious at a glance that he was Walder's get.
"Lord Jason, what is the meaning of this?"
"My apologies, young master."
Lord Jason swung his longsword and cut down the guard beside Ronel who had been reaching for his sword. The rest of the Frey guards tried to move, but Seagard's men were faster and more ruthless. Blood spread across the floor, and the light in the Frey guards' eyes slowly faded.
"I surrender. I surrender," the little weasel said in a trembling voice, dropping the short sword in his hand.
"What is the meaning of this?" the little weasel asked.
"My apologies, young lord. Your father is a traitor to the Riverlands. We are here to put down the rebellion."
"Traitor? You're lying. Riverrun is still under siege by the Kingslayer, and Great Lord Hoster was going to ask us for help."
"Riverrun has already been relieved. The one under siege now is the Twins."
Jason glanced at the little weasel.
The bastard Ronel dropped to the floor, his voice shaking. "That's impossible. House Stark and House Arryn haven't even moved yet."
Lord Jason looked at him, then ordered his men to keep the bastard under guard. "Naturally, someone else broke the siege. We have already sworn allegiance to the heir to the throne, Gendry."
"Take the high ground."
At Lord Jason's command, Seagard's soldiers quickly occupied the arrow slits, murder holes, and iron portcullises.
Bang!
The drawbridge at one of the side gates of the western castle had already been lowered, and the wooden bridge now stretched across the moat. Bluebeard and his men had already seized the passage there and cut the drawbridge ropes. The main gate's drawbridge was larger and its passage wider, but it was also guarded by more men, making it harder to strike there. Even so, the opening had already been made.
"Hold the line, brothers. Reinforcements will be here any moment," Bluebeard shouted, then ordered his men into a shield wall. Around them, several unlucky Frey soldiers lay sprawled in pools of blood.
"Enemy attack!"
"Enemy attack!"
The alarm bells rang first from the West River Castle, then from the Water Tower, then from the East River Castle. Bells clanged everywhere, and The Twins dissolved into total chaos.
"Fire," Patrek ordered the soldiers manning the catapults.
The machines answered with their harsh, brutal rumbling. Five small catapults began roaring without pause, flinging oil barrels and round stones as easily as if they were toys on the throwing arms.
"The main gate, and the arrow slits along the battlements," Patrek instructed. Though the castle walls bristled with spears, swords, and heavy crossbows, the men assigned to the defenses at the hour of the wolf were not at full strength.
Even if House Frey could guess where the catapults were positioned, they had no strength left to do anything about it now. Round stones and oil barrels arced through the air like curved moons. Some landed atop the walls, some crashed into the moat, and some slammed into the thick oak gates.
Overall, the effect was not as good as Gendry had hoped. Heavy oak doors banded with iron were never going to be easy to break open. Still, when the oil barrels burst against the walls or the wooden gates, they splashed oil over plenty of places.
"Archers."
Anguy waved a hand, and the longbowmen who had already been positioned stepped into place. They loosed a volley first, their arrows tipped with lamp oil. Flaming arrows filled the sky like a scattering of stars, leaving points of fire all across The Twins.
Gendry watched the result and saw that these arrows alone would not be enough to force open the oak gates.
"I'll leave this to you, Ser Patrek," Anguy said, then swung himself up into the saddle.
"Leave it to me." Patrek nodded. "Archers, forward. Keep up the pressure."
Using the firelight filling the sky, the longbowmen began shooting at the crossbowmen on the walls. It was no easy shot, but as long as the knights could break through the side gate, that would be enough.
"With me!"
Gendry raised his warhammer. The Twins was now burning on two fronts. Before the Freys could react, the cavalry had to be the first through the passageway. The side gate could not admit many men at once, but it was enough.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The knights, already eager for battle, sent their steeds surging forward. To the bleak, piercing cry of horns, they followed Gendry out from the woods and low hills outside the western castle of The Twins.
The grim horn blasts spread out from the forest, followed by the thunder of hooves as a torrent of steel rushed toward The Twins. The cold night had not yet ended, and war made it feel all the longer.
"Long live the Storm!"
"Breaker!"
The gold-cloaked knights charged in front, heading straight for the drawbridge of the western castle. The walls of The Twins were well-defended, but long years of guarding them had made the men lax. On top of that, the catapult barrage and repeated volleys had already left them reeling. To them, it seemed enemies were everywhere.
"The Breaker is here!"
Bluebeard burst out laughing, then ordered his men to mass inside the passageway, locking it down with round shields and spear formations.
Gendry drove his black stallion forward, with Ser Barristan and Anguy close behind him. The defenders on the walls had been thrown into confusion by the opening strikes, but they still managed to grasp how large the enemy assault really was.
An occasional arrow scraped across Gendry, but he wore heavy armor and moved with startling agility. Neither arrows nor falling stones slowed him in the least. Charging through the blazing heat of battle, Gendry finally burst into the passageway of The Twins.
"Out of the way! Out of the way!" Gendry shouted, and Bluebeard understood at once.
The soldiers of The Twins were hurriedly trying to throw cavalry at Bluebeard, who was holding the gate, when they suddenly found his formation splitting apart. A moment later, a rolling wave of iron-shod hooves came crashing into The Twins.
Several Frey riders in silver-gray cloaks saw only a huge knight in black scale armor, warhammer in hand, a golden cloak streaming behind him, bursting out of the passageway. Above his helm rose a leaping stag and a three-headed Dragon, like proud branching antlers, like some horned god descending to bring endless slaughter.
Bang!
Bang!
Gendry's howling warhammer held no flourish, only precise and crushing blows. The unlucky Frey knights dropped one after another under it. Horses screamed. The riders met death with shattered skulls or pulped hearts and lungs. Not one survived.
"The Mountain! It's the Mountain!" Frey soldiers shouted.
"Bullshit, that's King Robert. Didn't you see the stag?"
"Nonsense, there's a Dragon too!"
"Kill!"
More and more gold-cloaked knights charged in, like an endless current.
"This is bad." Hosteen Frey, who was responsible for the defense of the western castle, was shocked. The Frey knights around him could not help edging backward. Those gold-cloaked riders were like shrieking demons. After breaking through the passageway, they spread out through The Twins. Some dismounted and rushed the walls to seize the high ground, while more gold cloaks followed the giant-horned knight, unstoppable in their advance.
Hosteen stared at the gold cloaks. Gold was the color of House Baratheon, yet the sigil behind them was not a simple stag. Fear gripped his heart, and at last he understood who had come.
"It's the bastard."
"Pike formation! Pike formation!" Hosteen shouted, ordering the soldiers outside the gate to fall back and form up. "Go get Black Walder, now!"
The Frey soldiers hurriedly formed ranks. They wore blue ringmail with silver-gray cloaks over their shoulders, trying to settle into formation step by step.
Then Hosteen's vision darkened. He saw the huge knight suddenly leap from his horse, followed by several gold cloaks doing the same as they charged the pike formation. Bluebeard led his mercenaries into the fight as well. Before the Freys could properly form up, they saw that the attackers were carrying not pikes, but strange arakhs.
"Hah!"
A forest of pikes thrust out.
Gendry roared. The warhammer in his hand had been replaced by an arakh. There was no sharper weapon in the world. The arakh flashed with cold light, and pikeheads dropped away at once.
The hastily assembled pike formation had not finished forming, and its ranks were far from solid. Gendry tightened his grip on the curved blade and slashed one spearman half apart. The bloody sight terrified the Frey soldiers.
"Surrender and live. Only Freys die!" Gendry bellowed.
He was a whirlwind of death, the arakh in his hand unstoppable. He was tall and monstrously strong, like a god of slaughter among the crowd, carving a huge gap straight through them. The Frey soldiers had meant to fight on, but now they could only throw down their weapons.
The arakh flickered through the air like a crescent moon, a black shadow flashing again and again. Wherever the horned knight passed, Frey soldiers dropped to the ground, some with their heads rolling away, others split from the waist up. Faced with such absolute power and speed, the men of House Frey had lost all courage.
"Flank them! Flank them!" Ser Barristan shouted.
The other knights scattered at once and, using the chaos, swept around behind Hosteen.
Hosteen's pike formation was like a lone boat in a vast sea, swallowed by the surge. Frey infantry fell one after another. The rest, seeing a god of war made flesh, immediately threw down their weapons and dropped to their knees.
"We surrender!"
"We surrender!"
The gates of the western castle had been completely taken. Every gate now stood open, and more and more knights poured in to share the fruits of victory.