"Lord Royce~"
Amidst everyone's exclamations, the Countess of Runestone, the current Guardian of the Vale, was pierced through the throat by an arrow shot from an unknown direction and fell directly from his warhorse.
Earl Royce's sworn knights dismounted quickly, anxiously checking on him,
"My Lord, Lord Royce, are you alright?"
"Wuu… Wuu no.. Jenny…"
Earl Royce, whose throat had been pierced, had no time to give any last words. He simply stared with wide eyes, filled with guilt towards Jenny Arryn and worry for the future of the Vale, before unwillingly passing away.
"My Lord~"
Earl Royce's sworn knights let out furious roars.
"Knights of the Vale, kill all these bastards for me~"
"Kill~"
Lord Redfo of Bloodcastle, seeing Earl Royce killed, immediately turned red with anger. He quickly took over command of the Vale Knights and charged fiercely towards the opposing Thirteen Oaks Alliance.
The Vale Knights had been chasing the Mountain Clans for some time, so they were almost constantly in a state of high combat readiness. Moreover, they were already the elite among the elite of the Seven Kingdoms' cavalry.
The so-called Thirteen Oaks Alliance was merely a makeshift group cobbled together, without any systematic training or cohesion. And these noble lords were only looking for a verbal spat; they never expected someone would shoot a cold arrow from the shadows.
So they were completely shocked by the situation before them, unable to react for a moment, as House Royce was a great noble family that had been ranked among the Seven Kingdoms for generations.
They had really stirred up a hornet's nest this time!
Before these foolish heads could recover from their daze, the Vale Knights had already arrived before them in perfect formation.
As the most elite cavalry force in the Seven Kingdoms, how could these cobbled-together groups possibly resist? In their panic, they didn't even have time to adjust their formations before the Vale Knights broke through their lines.
During this time, the Vale Knights had slain many long-standing enemies, so they were in a state of constant exhilaration. Now, fueled by anger, they were all like men on stimulants, displaying twelve-tenths of their skill. In an instant, they routed the cavalry of The Reach, sending men and horses tumbling.
In less than half an hour, the cumbersome forces of The Reach had been cut through by the Vale Knights.
Three to four hundred of The Reach's one thousand cavalry were killed, and the two to three thousand infantry suffered even heavier losses, almost half of them. Lord Redfo, wielding the Valyria steel sword, Blooddrinker, personally slew Richard Rodden, Jon Roxston, and Roger Coen from the Thirteen Oaks.
As for Maester Oli of the Hightower Family and Septon Eustace, they were directly knocked off their horses and trampled to death by the stampeding horses, their bodies no longer recognizable.
The sounds of their battle quickly alerted Harold and Marquis Frey, who were stationed at High Heart. After learning the full story from Dona's ravens, they immediately led their armies to charge forward.
At this point, the remaining members of The Reach's Oak Alliance finally regained their composure and gradually reorganized their forces, temporarily holding back the Vale Knights who had charged back and forth several times.
And the four to five thousand members of the Poor Fellows Gathering had also joined the battle, using human wave tactics to completely surround the Vale Knights, making it difficult for them to utilize their cavalry advantage, which caused many casualties among the Vale Knights.
"Kill! Avenge our brethren! Kill these damned Vale Knights!"
At this moment, the surviving Highland Clans suddenly charged out from the nearby dense forest. It was evident that the cold arrow that killed Earl Royce likely came from them.
"Kill~"
"I was just looking for you wildlings, and now you've delivered yourselves to my doorstep!"
Lord Redfo's blood-colored Valyria steel sword seemed to grow redder with each enemy it slew, truly living up to its name, Blooddrinker.
However, the greatest advantage of cavalry is having enough space to charge, but now they were completely surrounded. Although they remained high-spirited and fought fiercely, they were ultimately outnumbered.
Of the thousand Vale Knights, only over seven hundred remained, and even more were injured; it was almost impossible to find anyone who hadn't sustained a wound.
"Brothers, kill for me! Kill one and break even, kill more and profit!"
But their morale was completely unaffected. Now, almost every Vale Knight was wounded, and their warhorses were beginning to show signs of fatigue.
However, the forces of The Reach and the Poor Fellows Gathering were simply too numerous, and now with the addition of the ferocious bandits of the Highland Clans, the Vale Knights' situation was made even worse, and their casualties quickly mounted.
However, earlier they were driven by anger, and the army of The Reach was simply too vulnerable, so they unknowingly became entangled in the crowd. Now, even if they wanted to charge out, it would be difficult, and would only result in greater casualties.
So they formed small battle formations in groups of a few, preparing to fight to the death against this crowd.
"Screech~"
The people in the melee suddenly felt a shadow overhead, as a golden giant dragon appeared above them. It was Rhaenyra, who had been helping forge Dragonstone at High Heart, arriving on her giant dragon, Syrax.
"Stop fighting immediately! Otherwise, you will be treated as traitors!"
Although Princess Rhaenyra was witnessing such a large-scale melee for the first time, she showed no hint of fear, instead displaying the demeanor of a true royal princess.
Moreover, King Jaehaerys had long issued a strict order that disputes between lords must be mediated by the King, and those who dared to initiate war would be treated as traitors. This was a rule familiar to all nobles in the Seven Kingdoms, and no one had dared to disobey it in recent decades.
However, even after Princess Rhaenyra, who wielded a giant dragon, had spoken, aside from Earl Mosswode who silently led his family soldiers out of the battlefield, everyone else seemed completely unmoved.
Members of the Poor Fellows Gathering even secretly began to surround Syrax, who was parked nearby. Some Highland Clansmen, oblivious to their own peril, even prepared to shoot cold arrows at Rhaenyra. However, they were directly shot down by the longbowmen of the Blackwood family, who had already arrived nearby.
"Disarm and live~"
Under Harold's command, the Gold Cloaks, Dragon Guard, Blackwood family warriors, and Frey Family warriors charged directly down from the hillside.
An enraged Rhaenyra directly ordered her giant dragon to breathe Dragonflame.
"Dragonflame~"
Orange-red flames instantly exploded among the members of the Poor Fellows Gathering and the Highland Clans.
"Ah~"
Accompanied by agonizing wails and the smell of charring, Rhaenyra and Syrax finally completed their first kill. They were no longer the partners who had never seen blood in their original history.
With Harold and his forces joining, the tide of battle instantly turned.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"