New chapter! Thanks for all the support!
x
Inside the large command tent at the center of the allied camp, dozens of candles made the interior as bright as day. At that moment, Robb and the others were discussing the aftermath of the battle.
"Robb, we killed roughly two thousand enemies in total. More than four hundred heavy cavalry, more than four hundred light cavalry, and over a thousand militia infantry. We also took close to two thousand prisoners."
Theon had already had the casualty figures for both sides sorted out. As soon as the meeting began, he started his report.
"Ah, and that rescue team you insisted on setting up really was a smart idea. With them reaching the wounded in time, the death rate among our injured dropped a lot."
"Yes, that was to be expected. They've had rescue teams like that in the South for a long time. Go on."
Robb nodded and motioned for him to continue.
"Of the militia infantry we recruited earlier, more than two thousand seven hundred were killed. Around one thousand two hundred are left.
Winterfell's spearmen lost two hundred men, the infantry lost two hundred and fifty, and the cavalry lost eighty. On top of that, there are more than four hundred wounded, with injuries ranging from light to severe."
"Even with all our preparation, we still took losses like that. As one of the oldest houses in the North, House Bolton is no easy foe."
Robb shook his head as he listened. He was not satisfied with those losses. Even after doing everything he could in arranging the troops and directing the battle, the cost had still been high. That only showed how formidable Bolton's elite forces really were.
"From this battle, we recovered nearly five hundred heavy cavalry suits of armor, nearly five hundred light cavalry suits of armor, more than seven hundred warhorses, and three thousand sets of standard infantry equipment and weapons.
With the mineral resources from Stonehedge, House Bolton really has been living well in the North."
After finishing the report on the spoils, Theon could not help adding that comment.
"Good. Have the rear lines start sorting everything and loading it onto wagons. With a little work, we'll be able to use it soon."
Robb nodded, satisfied with the spoils.
When Theon was done, Lord Rickard, who had his own goal in mind, was the first to speak.
"Lord Robb, according to the information we got from questioning the prisoners, there should be no more than a little over a thousand soldiers left inside the Dreadfort. In your view, when do we begin the real siege?"
"Everyone has seen how the last few days of attacks went. The Dreadfort is easy to defend and hard to take. Forcing an assault now would cost more than it gains us."
Robb shook his head. From the beginning, he had never intended to take the castle by force.
"Then we can stage a prisoner mutiny, lure them out to respond, and wipe them out in one stroke."
Sitting beside Lord Rickard, Theon offered his suggestion at just the right time.
Theon had ideas, but he was still far too naive.
Robb was already thinking of rejecting the suggestion, but to his surprise, the Winterfell officers around them began praising it at once.
"Good idea!"
"Right, we can do it that way. Then we won't need to force an assault."
"Theon, not bad!"
Robb stared in astonishment at Theon, who was already starting to look pleased with himself under all the praise.
At that moment, he understood a little better why, in the Whispering Wood, Jaime had been lured out by only two or three hundred riders disguised as men of House Tully.
The tactical awareness of Westerosi commanders was far too crude.
Roose Bolton was known to all as a calculating man, a veteran among the great names of the North.
And yet even he had still been toyed with by someone as young as Robb.
To trap him, Robb had first used Ramsay to pull him into the snare, while also showing weakness to the enemy.
Then he had waited for the northern lords, unable to hold themselves back, to arrive and serve as the visible target, while he carried out a plan in plain sight while moving in secret.
In the end, he had used a few battlefield tricks from the ancient wars of his own world to completely neutralize Bolton's cavalry.
So in truth, it was not exactly Robb's own wisdom that had defeated Roose, but the wisdom of ancient strategists that he had borrowed to beat him.
Even so, looking at subordinates whose tactical thinking was this rough, he could not help worrying about future wars.
For now, he could still be personally present in every battle. But in the future, when the front stretched longer and several advances had to be pushed at once, the commanders in charge would have to be able to judge the situation correctly on their own.
Otherwise, one local defeat could ruin everything.
"Ahem. When my father was teaching me about war, he once analyzed Roose Bolton for me."
Robb cleared his throat and cut through the lively debate inside the tent. Once he saw everyone's attention turn back to him, he continued:
"At the time, my father said Roose's way of war was like a venomous snake hidden in the dark. He knows how to preserve his strength, then the moment his enemy shows an opening, he darts out of the shadows and kills with a single strike."
"This time, we used those four thousand militiamen as prey full of openings, just to bait him in and deal him a heavy blow.
Now tell me this. After taking that kind of blow, would a snake like that come out of its castle so soon over a situation like this, without knowing whether it was real or false?"
Robb's words made the entire tent fall silent. The heated atmosphere from before vanished completely.
"Then what should we do? Surround them and wait until they run out of food and surrender on their own?"
Seeing the tent go quiet, with no one saying anything, Theon opened his mouth to keep the conversation going.
"Yes, that is one method. The Stark ancestors used it once before, surrounding the Dreadfort for two years until the Boltons submitted for the first time.
But do we have the supplies and the energy to sustain a siege like that right now? In war, the army's strength matters, but the rear lines matter too."
Robb nodded with a smile, praising the question while continuing to guide them through the tactical reasoning.
"We have already destroyed most of House Bolton's elite forces and achieved the goal we expected. So the right thing would be to withdraw?
Lord Robb, do you think I'm right?"
Edd, who had been following closely beside Robb these past days, had improved a little. After thinking for a moment, he offered his idea and looked at Robb, waiting for an answer.
"Yes, Edd spoke well. But if House Bolton invaded your lands and defeated your guards, would they simply turn around and leave?"
Seeing that someone was finally starting to understand, Robb patiently continued guiding him.
"Of course not. They would definitely go around killing, looting, and forcing themselves on women wherever they went."
Hearing the question, Edd thought for a moment about House Bolton's infamous reputation and answered without hesitation.
Seeing that Edd had already touched the key point, Robb continued:
"Then after we withdraw, what should we do?"
"Steal all the women from their lands and then... hehe..."
Theon, who had been listening quietly until then, immediately lit up and jumped into the discussion the moment he heard where it was going.
"Hehe!"
"I support that idea!"
"So we pull out tomorrow and start looting?"
Before Robb could even respond, the officers in the tent let out the kind of laughter any man would understand and started talking among themselves.
"Ahem, we're talking about serious business."
Robb was caught between laughter and exasperation because of Theon. Then he cleared his throat again and said seriously:
"Apart from the Dreadfort itself, House Bolton's greatest support is the mineral wealth tied to Stonehedge.
Since the Dreadfort is an iron turtle, tomorrow we will go to Stonehedge and rip out that part of their foundation. After that, Roose will have only two roads left.
Either he comes out to fight a decisive battle for the future of House Bolton, or he hides inside the Dreadfort and slowly waits for death."
"Brilliant! Lord Robb truly is brilliant!"
"It's so simple. Why didn't I think of that?"
"Well... actually, when I was talking about stealing women, I was also thinking we could loot Stonehedge while we were at it."
The moment Robb finished speaking, the tent once again filled with exaggerated praise from the officers.
Hearing them praise as extraordinary something any student in his world would understand, Robb could not help covering his face with his right hand. Then he ended the war council and sent them all off to rest.
"Theon, stay behind. I still have something for you to do."
x
x
x
If you're enjoying the story so far, consider supporting me on Patreon ❤️
You'll get weekly early access to chapters, along with some exclusive content:
https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheDevotedReader