The banners blot out the sun, the enemy is like clouds; arrows fall like rain, the soldiers fight to be first.
Near the mountain pass below Casterly Rock.
Lord Quenton Banefort took a deep breath. He gripped his longsword tightly, riding his horse as he clashed on the battlefield with Lord Vance from the northern camp. The task Jaime Lannister had given him was to hold this man back.
As Quenton Banefort thought to himself, he saw Lord Vance charging at him again. He cursed inwardly, having no choice but to raise his sword to meet him. He had not expected Lord Vance from Wayfarer's Rest to be so capable in battle.
Seven Hells! Just in that last exchange, he had nearly lost his head!
Lord Quenton Banefort was the Lord of Banefort and head of House Banefort. Their castle, "Banefort," was located in the northwest of the Westerlands, on the western coastline of Westeros.
Lord Quenton Banefort wore a set of grey armor and a black headscarf; the style of the headscarf looked strange, more like a hood.
The sigil of House Banefort was a man wearing a black headscarf on a grey field with a flame border. They claimed their lineage descended from a legendary figure of the Age of Heroes: the Hooded Man.
In this engagement, Lord Quenton Banefort had adopted a strategy of luring the enemy. He planned to first bait Lord Vance into pursuing him with his troops, then have the army lying in ambush in the dense forests on both sides of the pass suddenly rush out to attack the enemy's rear, surrounding them completely.
Lord Vance brandished his longsword and led his troops in a charge toward Lord Quenton Banefort. He had endured these defenders of Casterly Rock for long enough; they had been cowering inside, refusing to come out no matter how much he cursed them.
Now that they had finally crawled out of their shell, they even dared to provoke him first. How could a hot-tempered man like Lord Vance tolerate this?
Lord Vance was strong and skilled in martial arts, causing Lord Quenton Banefort no end of trouble. Their attacks were swift and sustained, lasting from the dawn when the two armies engaged until near noon.
It was not until Lord Quenton Banefort saw that Lord Vance had penetrated dozens of miles deep alone that he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He knew his mission was about to be accomplished; Lord Vance had taken the bait!
Just as Lord Vance was charging back and forth on the battlefield, fighting with glee, he suddenly heard a sharp whistle.
For a moment, the earth shook and a rumbling sound arose. Lord Vance looked back and discovered a large number of troops appearing in his rear. He realized he must have fallen for the enemy's trap.
Lord Vance immediately made a decisive choice, gathering his troops at once. The rear guard became the vanguard, charging toward the army behind them.
Because Lord Vance noticed that although this group of troops was numerous, they were all infantry, while most of his own forces were cavalry. He believed that cavalry would surely defeat infantry.
Just as Lord Vance was reorganizing his army to charge toward the rear, Lord Quenton Banefort to the west suddenly revealed a smile.
Sure enough, just as Lord Vance charged, the many Lannister infantry stood their ground without any panic.
Suddenly, their formation opened up, revealing huge shields inside.
In an instant, the formation changed rapidly. The shield-bearing soldiers moved to the front and crouched down, placing their shields heavily on the ground, kicking up dust. From a distance, it looked like a sturdy city wall.
The next moment, the soldiers behind picked up twelve-meter pikes and stood behind the shields. The spear tips were collectively angled at forty-five degrees, extending out through the gaps in the shields. The sharp spear tips looked incomparably dazzling in the sunlight.
Seeing this, Lord Vance urgently ordered the front-line cavalry to stop, but unfortunately, the immense momentum caused the cavalry to crash directly into the enemy's line.
Crimson blood splattered from the bodies of soldiers and warhorses, making the Lannister pikes appear even sharper.
Lord Vance wiped the congealed blood from his face and panted heavily. His eyes darted around, seemingly searching for a route to break through.
But after looking for a while, he could not see any hope of survival. Thus, he cast his gaze toward Lord Quenton Banefort, who was observing from afar.
The next moment, Lord Vance smiled—a bleak, tragic smile. He looked at the Riverlands soldiers surrounding him and felt ashamed.
He said loudly: "I have fallen for their trap this time; I have failed you. I fear we are all doomed to die today. Are you afraid of death?"
"No!" a knight from House Smallwood said first, and everyone followed with firm resolve.
"No!"
"..."
"Hahaha, good! You are all good men." Lord Vance's eyes brimmed with tears as he looked around at the burning, murderous gazes of his soldiers. He made his decision.
"I now give my final order: the whole army, turn around! Raise your sharp swords, pick up your spears! Under the glory of the Seven, charge toward Casterly Rock in the west!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"..."
Morale soared, and the air boiled with murderous intent. Lord Vance abandoned the idea of breaking through to the east and led the many Riverlands soldiers straight toward Casterly Rock.
With the will to die, one finds life!
"All troops, charge!!!" Lord Vance roared, puffing out his chest, holding his longsword high as he charged at the very front of the formation, with his soldiers following closely behind to launch the final attack.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"..."
Lord Quenton Banefort was just thinking about how to make the enemy surrender, when he saw a group of blood-stained Riverlands soldiers, led by Lord Vance, charging at him as if they had no fear of death. Countless roars shook the heavens and the earth.
"You madman! Form up! Hold the line! Hold it!" Lord Quenton Banefort was truly terrified. He had not expected Lord Vance to be so fierce; this was a refusal to surrender even in death!
"Get the army in the east to return quickly!"
What to do now! He hadn't expected it to come to this! Lord Quenton Banefort was on the verge of tears. Seven Hells! I hate fighting madmen the most!
At this moment, Jaime Lannister, who was secretly marching on the cliff north of the pass, saw this scene.
"Who is that man?" Jaime asked.
"It is Lord Vance of Wayfarer's Rest." A young man wearing armor engraved with the burning tree pattern of orange smoke poked his head out and answered Jaime.
This young man was a member of House Marbrand from the Westerlands and an attendant to Ser Addam Marbrand, Jaime Lannister's childhood friend.
"Truly a warrior," Jaime sighed. He looked at the figure at the very front, despite the figure being somewhat hunched and aged, with a full head of white hair. But this man was a true knight! I am not his equal.
Jaime reflected in his heart, feeling as if his whole being had emptied out. For so many years, was he truly worthy of the title of knight?
"My lord, please forgive me for interrupting you. But now is not the time for sentiment; we still have an important task to complete." The young man urged Jaime, his face still showing traces of youth, with some freckles.
"No, you are not wrong; now is indeed not the time for me to be sentimental." Jaime Lannister pulled back his thoughts. He did not blame the young man; it was his own slackness.
"What is your name?" Jaime asked, thinking that since this young man could be an attendant to his childhood friend Ser Addam Marbrand, he must have something special about him.
"Pate, my lord. My name is Pate Hill." Pate hesitated only for a moment before stating his name. Even as a member of House Marbrand of the Westerlands, his bastard surname "Hill" was not very glorious.
"Pate? Hahaha! That is a good name, and your face is indeed covered in freckles." Hearing the young man's words, Jaime's mood suddenly relaxed, and he immediately ordered the troops to continue marching.
"Freckled" Pate was the protagonist of many folk tales in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire. He was kind-hearted and seemed foolish, but he always managed to defeat enemies, overcome dangers, and eventually either become a lord or win the beauty.
(A bit like Guo Jing in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and Shi Potian in "Ode to Gallantry.")
...
Because the mountain pass east of Casterly Rock was crossed by a protruding ridge, to ensure the safety of the River Road behind the Casterly Rock pass, the northern and southern camps of the Riverlands were built separated by the ridge.
In the southern camp of the pass.
After hearing that Lord Vance had not returned all morning, Lord Clement Piper finally came to his senses; he knew the situation was going to be bad!
"Gather the whole army!" Lord Clement Piper wanted to go out and see how his old friend was doing, but just as he finished gathering the army and prepared to support Lord Vance in the northern camp—
He discovered dust flying in the distance and knew it was an army.
Lord Andros Brax, seeing that Lord Quenton Banefort had lured Lord Vance of the northern camp out, decisively sent troops to launch a fierce attack on Lord Clement Piper in the southern camp, creating time for the force Jaime Lannister had sent to sneak through.
The Westerlands army was located on higher ground at Casterly Rock. Charging from high to low was always much faster than from low to high, and before long, they had reached close range.
Moreover, this Westerlands army at Casterly Rock was not composed of newly recruited soldiers; most of the troops Tywin Lannister had assigned to his son Jaime Lannister were battle-hardened veterans of the Westerlands.
The Westerlands army cooperated tacitly, with some setting up ladders in front and others providing cover with arrows from behind. Once the ladders were successfully set, everyone swarmed up, rushing onto the camp to hack and slash.
The Riverlands soldiers stationed at the pass below Casterly Rock were not new recruits either, but unlike the Westerlands, the Riverlands truly could not recruit new soldiers for the time being and could only rely on the forces under various lords to piece together a few squads.
As time passed and the sun set, the sky began to dim.
On both sides of the camp, one attacking and one defending, both sides fought until their eyes were red. Neither would yield, and blood flowed down the east side onto the River Road, staining the entire road red.
The corpses of countless soldiers piled up like mountains outside the camp, to the point where the ladders for the attack barely needed to be set up.
Just as the two armies were deadlocked, another force ran out from the rear of the Westerlands army, led by a tall, burly man. It turned out to be "The Mountain" Gregor Clegane, who saw the situation was unfavorable and immediately led troops to support.
"The Mountain" Gregor Clegane was burly and possessed immense strength. Although his left arm could not move much, he used his right hand to wield a greatsword, taking the lead and commanding the soldiers to climb the blood-soaked camp continuously.
Lord Clement Piper saw the tall figure on the camp, and his already panicked heart became even more fearful.
"The Seven above, bless me to survive this time!" Lord Clement Piper hid behind numerous guards, terrified that others would see him.
Whenever there was an opportunity, he would secretly go out to hack at a few isolated Westerlands soldiers, but he never dared to face the enemy head-on.
Facing the Lannister army's reckless assault on the camp, the Riverlands soldiers around Lord Clement Piper were also rapidly decreasing, and he was beaten to the point of numbness.
In this dire situation, Lord Clement Piper suddenly discovered a force appearing from the direction of the northern camp. They were wearing Riverlands armor, bypassing the ridge and heading toward his southern camp.
Lord Clement Piper was overjoyed at the sight, thinking that Lord Vance of the northern camp had routed the invaders of Casterly Rock and had turned back to support him.
As he was thinking this, a blonde soldier in the supporting force, riding a tall horse and with a face covered in blood, suddenly jumped off his horse. He ran while shouting loudly: "I have a battle report!" and quickly approached his side.
This person's face was covered in blood, making it impossible to see his features clearly, but Lord Clement Piper had long since lowered his guard and did not notice this.
It was not until the person reached his side that Lord Clement Piper turned around with a smile, leaning in to hear the scout's report clearly, only to hear the other party whisper in his ear—
"My lord, the Lannisters send their regards."