The Trident river basin.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, Roose Bolton arrived at the Trident river basin with his great army.
The Northern army and the Westerlands army camped in a standoff, both sides' troops standing in orderly ranks, gazing at each other from afar.
Originally, Roose Bolton had wanted to take advantage of the night, while the Westerlands army was unprepared, to launch a surprise attack and catch them off guard.
But his plan failed; the Westerlands had numerous scouts scattered throughout the dense forest. Even if he killed the ones in plain sight, there were still those ambushed in the shadows.
Unless, like Robb Stark, he had "Blackfish" Brynden Tully assemble a squad of skilled archers specifically to focus on sniping those scouts.
But Roose Bolton clearly did not have that many elite archers, nor did he have that much time to prepare; he had to arrive at the Trident river basin immediately to buy time for Robb Stark's strategy.
The Trident is a river in the Riverlands. It splits into three tributaries: the Red Fork, the Green Fork, and the Blue Fork, and is an essential channel for transporting supplies.
Roose Bolton rode his steed through the mud, calmly inspecting the ranks.
He was like a tall statue, his light-colored eyes, filled with strategic wisdom, scanning the entire position, stirring up the morale of the Northern soldiers.
Opposite him, the commander of the Westerlands army, Tywin Lannister, stood tall on the high ground, his head slightly bowed in deep thought.
The soldiers of both armies stood in neat ranks, every warrior bathed in the boundless moonlight, the family banners behind them fluttering in the wind, the surging morale in their eyes gradually rising.
Between the Northern and Westerlands armies, an invisible but tangible wall formed a substantial barrier. They were not separated by the rushing Trident in front of them, but by the killing intent.
The soldiers of both armies were separated by this invisible wall. Since it was the early morning, they could only see each other through the burning torches; they could not clearly see the other's faces, but they could feel the surging killing intent of the other side.
As the stars in the night sky flickered, the tension between the two armies intensified.
At this moment, war drums thundered, horns wailed, and the prelude to war began.
"Ser Gregor Clegane, is your left arm better?"
Tyrion Lannister asked with a smile; this was his usual sharp tongue.
"What do you think?" Gregor Clegane shook his left arm, which had its bandages removed but still could not move freely, feeling somewhat speechless.
"Hahahaha!"
Seeing his helpless appearance, Tyrion was even happier; it seemed that such dark humor really piqued his interest.
Afterward, Tyrion Lannister laughed for a while and then actively comforted him: "It's fine, Ser. When the war ends, I will ask my father to grant you a great reward!"
"Thank you, Lord Tyrion!"
Gregor Clegane could only nod in thanks; after all, he was his liege lord, and it was hard to say anything else.
Before long, a loud horn blast spread throughout the camp.
Tyrion Lannister immediately raised his head; he knew that the war was about to begin and it was time for him to head to the battlefield.
Thus, Tyrion led his group of Mountain Clansmen rushing toward the Northern troops. As he advanced with his weapon, he shouted loudly to those behind him: "Everyone! Wealth and glory are right before your eyes! Food, weapons, armor are all right there! Now, all troops follow my steps, attack!"
"Kill!"
"Wulalala!"
"Wayayaya!"
"Charge!"
"Oulalalala!"
Hearing these inspiring words, the various Mountain Clansmen tribes immediately brightened, their killing intent boiling, and they all let out their own powerful war cries.
For a moment, some were beating their chests and stamping their feet, others were howling at the sky; the entire Westerlands left flank was dancing like demons and in complete chaos.
These people were wearing armor a size too big or too small, some of it not even matching, making them look ridiculous no matter how you looked at it.
Their morale was high, and they swarmed around the small dwarf Tyrion Lannister, charging toward the battlefield.
Tywin Lannister was very experienced in using troops. He first had his youngest son, Tyrion Lannister, and the ragtag troops led by his Mountain Clansmen act as the regular Westerlands left flank, using them as bait to attract the fire of the Northern army.
Then, he had his brother, Kevan Lannister, lead the center army to the left to surround the Stark troops.
Kevan Lannister was a bit fat and had a fleshy double chin. His golden hair was as sparse as his brother Tywin's, and the beard on his square chin was trimmed very short.
He had slightly sloping shoulders and a thick waist. His delicate skin made him look slightly younger, making people forget that he was actually fifty-five years old.
After receiving Tywin's order, Kevan Lannister immediately began to implement it. He first had Ser Leo Lefford lead a small number of heavy cavalry to arrive at the rear of the Stark troops first and block the road.
Then, he had Lymond Lydden and Lord Serrett lead the majority of the remaining infantry to ambush in the dense forest beside the Kingsroad, firing arrows crazily at the Northern troops, who were in disarray.
In the Lannister left flank.
"Oh, damn it!" Tyrion Lannister, holding a shield in his left hand and a longsword taller than himself in his right, charged into the fray with exceptional bravery.
Tyrion first hacked to death a Northern knight who charged at him, and then, together with Bronn beside him, captured a Northern cavalryman trapped under his horse.
Tyrion was puzzled to see Bronn and asked: "It's one thing for a dwarf as small as me to hide in the crowd, but why did you, a mercenary with superb martial arts and both hands and feet, run over here too?"
Regarding this, Bronn said without caring about his reputation: "When I was a mercenary on the other side of the Narrow Sea, our leader told me: there are bold mercenaries, there are old mercenaries, but there has never been a mercenary who is both bold and old. In all things, one must preserve one's own little life."
After listening, Tyrion nodded understandingly; it seemed his and Bronn's values were quite consistent.
However, just as they forced the Northern troops back near the Kingsroad, a barrage of arrows suddenly rained down upon them.
These sharp arrows did not distinguish between friend and foe, shooting at anyone they saw; both the Northern soldiers and the Westerlands left flank were covered.
"Quick, close in on me!"
Seeing the sky full of arrow rain shooting toward them, Tyrion Lannister was startled.
He immediately ran behind the tall Kon of the Stone Crow Tribe and called for the people of the various tribes to move toward him and protect his little life.
The Black Ears Tribe and the Moon People Tribe reacted first, specifically sending a squad of men with shields to surround Tyrion Lannister, the cash cow, which made Tyrion feel very relieved.
Just then, a heaven-shaking war cry rang out.
Tyrion poked his head out and saw that Ser Gregor Clegane had actually led his heavy infantry to break through the sturdy shield wall of the Northern troops.
So, he was in a great mood and shouted to the Mountain Clansmen beside him: "Victory is right before our eyes! All troops, charge toward the Northern troops!"
For a moment, the Mountain Clansmen were greatly encouraged and charged over like madmen.
These people did not notice Tyrion Lannister, who had been knocked to the ground, and almost trampled him to death.
In the end, it was Bronn who had the foresight to drag the disheveled Tyrion out of the mud.
"Seven hells, these barbaric fellows! I'm going to deduct their pay!" Tyrion Lannister sat on the ground, breathing heavily, and wailed loudly and miserably.
"Then have you considered giving me a raise?" Bronn laughed, leaned in, and wiped the mud off Tyrion Lannister's face.
"Bronn, you really are my good brother."
"Hehe, talking about feelings is vulgar; I still want something practical."
"After the war, I'll give you five thousand gold dragons to squander!"
"Only five thousand?"
"Seven hells, you don't really think the crap I poop out is made of gold, do you!"
It was just this inadvertent glance by Tyrion Lannister that allowed him to see many Northern banners; one banner represented one house.
Among them were House Hornwood, House Karstark, House Cerwyn, House Frey, and so on.
But what puzzled Tyrion Lannister was that he did not see the banner of House Bolton of The Dreadfort.
After several rounds of arrow fire swept the field, the Northern troops had not yet had a moment to catch their breath.
Ser Addam Marbrand arrived with the right flank, which was composed entirely of heavy cavalry, reaching four thousand in number.
Speed is the essence of war; Ser Addam Marbrand did not let this rare opportunity slip by. He personally led Ser Flement Brax and one-third of his heavy cavalry in a rapid charge, striking directly at the shield wall of pikemen of House Karstark, which had been broken by Ser Gregor Clegane's heavy infantry.
Kevan Lannister, in the center army, saw that the time was ripe and immediately followed his brother Tywin Lannister's strategy, sending his spearmen to the front to drive the Northern troops toward the hills behind them.
The archers were not idle either, continuing to shoot arrows at the Northern soldiers behind the shield wall, trying their best to weaken the enemy's strength.
It was at this moment that Kevan Lannister noticed something was wrong.
Because he was commanding from a high slope, he could see that although this group of Northern troops was numerous and carried the Direwolf banner of House Stark, he did not see the main commander of House Stark, Robb Stark, nor could he see any other members of House Stark.
Moreover, this unit was routing far too quickly; even if there was a huge gap between the two sides, if they were fighting seriously, it wouldn't be like this.
Because of his years of campaigning, Kevan trusted his eyes very much, and before the battle, he had studied the composition of the Northern troops in advance. So as long as he had seen them on the battlefield, he would not forget.
Thus, Kevan immediately sent Lymond Lydden to march rapidly to find his brother Tywin Lannister, who was leading the reserve troops along the river from the rear, preparing to raid the Northern army's defense line, and report this abnormal situation.
He did not know why, but Kevan had an ominous premonition, as if this group of Northern troops was deliberately throwing their lives away.
Behind the battlefield.
Tyrion Lannister and Bronn were speeding back to the camp with the people of the Stone Crow Tribe, because Kon of the Stone Crow Tribe had been stabbed in the abdomen by a spearman behind the House Karstark shield wall during the attack.
"Little dwarf, Kon is in so much pain, Kon is afraid he won't make it this time. Little dwarf, please remember to bury my axe with me."
Kon's strong body lay on a wooden cart speeding toward the camp, muttering weakly.
"Kon, you fellow, don't die! You have to hold on! If you die, your food, armor, and axe will all be taken by me!"
Tyrion Lannister panicked; he did not want this warrior who had dutifully protected him to die just like that.
"Don't take Kon's axe, the axe is Kon's, it's Kon's..."
Most of Kon's blood had already drained away; even if they rushed back to the camp, it was beyond saving.
Seeing that Kon was about to close his eyes, Tyrion Lannister had the wooden cart stop. He endured the grief in his heart, held Kon's large hand tightly, and promised: "Alright, Kon. The axe is yours, I won't take it."
"Thank you, little dwarf..."
After saying this, Kon's half-opened eyes closed uncontrollably, and there was no movement at all.
Looking at Kon's gradually cooling corpse on the wooden cart, Tyrion Lannister sat down in a daze. He leaned against the wheel and lowered his head.
Bronn, who was beside him, did not disturb him, because Bronn seemed to hear a faint, low sob.
One general's achievement is built on ten thousand bones.
After the Battle of the Green Fork ended, when counting the casualties, Tyrion Lannister discovered that half of his Mountain Clansmen had died, including Kon of the Stone Crow Tribe and Ulf of the Moon People Tribe.
Many of them had been killed by those indiscriminate arrows near the Kingsroad, which had struck vital parts.
Thinking of this, Tyrion Lannister clenched his fists unconsciously; he finally understood.
His father, Tywin Lannister, had clearly intended for him to go to his death.
Although this Battle of the Green Fork had been a victory for their Westerlands army, no one cared about the deaths and injuries of these Mountain Clansmen, and no one would remember their names when this war was mentioned in the future.
"Kon is dead, not happy, not happy." Vada stood guard before Kon's cold corpse, pouting her little mouth and shaking her little head, tears streaming down her face.
She had seen many people pass away, and she had thought her heart was strong enough, but at this moment, facing the passing of Kon, with whom she had a dozen years of friendship, she could not control her tears.