The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 549: The Great Battle (3)

(Guaranteed chapter + bonus update 1, eight thousand words)

*

In the East City barracks, a thousand soldiers who were eating dropped their bowls upon hearing the alarm of an enemy attack. They rushed into the shield hall to grab their weapons, put on their armor and helmets. The Mountain's Red Smoke Beast charged in, crashing into the camp. The Red Smoke Beast lowered its head and charged, causing soldiers to fall one after another, trampled under its hooves, screams erupting everywhere.

The Mountain swept his Ice Sword horizontally, cutting several soldiers nearby into two pieces, severed limbs and blood flying into the air.

Some soldiers were stunned; some immediately fled, decisively; some rushed into the shield hall to grab weapons, helmets, and armor, creating a chaotic scene.

The pirate and Ironborn mixed legions lacked the true qualities of professional soldiers. The qualities of a professional legion are different from mere cruelty and ruthlessness; they encompass discipline, will, loyalty, adaptability, teamwork… a comprehensive set of qualities.

The Mountain's Legion possessed this quality! The Clegane Legion's adaptability, teamwork, and discipline were as hard as steel.

The Mountain's Red Smoke Beast was too fast. Alone, he charged into the East City barracks, hacking and slashing at will. The Ice Sword was too sharp, and coupled with the Mountain's divine strength, no one could stop him.

The thousand-strong legion was scattered by him alone. From east to west, no one could withstand his casual strike. Anyone who came into contact with the Ice Sword, man or horse, was knocked down. Even if the Ice Sword was just a blunt piece of wood, flesh and blood could not withstand the Mountain's strike, let alone the Ice Sword being Valyrian steel.

Beneath the pirates' and Ironborn's cruelty and bravery lay fear and cowardice, just usually unseen. The Mountain, alone with his sword, pierced through the thousand-man camp, turned his horse, and charged again from west to east. The Red Smoke Beast was like a red mist, incredibly fast. Several centurions gathered their men, forming a formation, intending to use numbers to overcome him, when suddenly the sound of hooves thundered behind them, shouts shaking the sky. The Mountain's thousand elite cavalry arrived, three generals charging into the camp in three directions. The fastest was the executioner Dunsen's three hundred or so riders.

A thousand swords were raised, like a dense forest of blades.

Dunsen twirled his longsword, shouting as he charged. The pirate and Ironborn mixed legion, which had just organized a few hundred men, collapsed instantly.

Dunsen's warhorse crashed into them, his longsword hacking wildly. A centurion who turned to flee had his helmet and head chopped open together. The unfortunate's weapon fell from his hand, and he was still staggering when Dunsen had already charged past, his longsword slashing diagonally, cutting off the second man's wrist. The impact of the warhorse's charge sent two soldiers flying…

Three hundred cavalry charged into the enemy's ranks, longswords slashing wildly. The warhorses slammed into the infantry from behind, a one-sided massacre. The front of this organized resistance force of several hundred soldiers faced the howling Mountain.

The Mountain's Red Smoke Beast was fast, charging through from west to east again. Wherever he went, enemy soldiers were cut in two, without exception.

The Red Smoke Beast's speed, the Ice Sword's sharpness, and the Mountain's divine strength, combined together, were unstoppable to the pirates and Ironborn. The Mountain charged into the enemy ranks, killing people like chopping melons and vegetables…

Sweetmouth Ralf and the artist Polliver's two cavalry legions met no resistance. Six hundred cavalrymen shouted as they chased the fleeing soldiers all over the ground, relentlessly pursuing them through the streets and alleys. The Mountain had ordered that they must be killed.

The stench of blood filled the East City barracks, corpses littered the ground, and blood flowed through the streets…

*

Big Chiswyck and his deputy Tobolt ordered their loyal subordinates, Rats and Reynard Westerling, to guard the East Gate with fifty men. He and Tobolt led one hundred and fifty men straight to the Earl's main castle.

On the high tower of the Earl's main castle, soldiers were still blowing the alarm horn.

The sound of rushing footsteps came from the street ahead, as many soldiers rushed towards the East Gate.

Big Chiswyck raised his hand: "Stop, form ranks!"

"Hoo!" The soldiers roared in unison.

One hundred and fifty men formed a square formation, standing quietly on the street, listening to the booming footsteps getting closer and closer.

Big Chiswyck and Tobolt's eyes gleamed. Beside them, a slender, fully armed soldier wearing a helmet lowered her visor, unable to see her face, but her figure was so slender and perfect, completely different from the burly and strong aura of the other soldiers around her.

This soldier, who closely followed Big Head, was none other than Jonea Blackmont from Dorne. She was originally the heir to one of the nine great families of Dorne—the eldest daughter of Countess Laura Blackmont—but was plundered by Big Head into the Clegane army, and forced to become Big Head's wife. She swore allegiance to Jeyne Westerling, and this time, with Lady Jeyne's consent, she fought alongside Big Head.

Her armor was unique, with yellow circular copper plates on her chest and back. The coat of arms on her cloak and armor was still the Blackmont family pattern: a black eagle's claws clutching a pink little boy.

The enemy appeared on the street, a legion mainly composed of pirates, densely packed and filling the street, with no end in sight. It was a thousand-man regiment.

"Brothers, give these useless guys a finger dance!" The opposing general laughed and took a short-handled throwing axe from his waist.

The soldiers laughed together, they were extremely contemptuous of the Clegane infantry and the Lannisport infantry. In the previous street and alley battles, the enemy was vulnerable, which was a verified result.

The pirates and Ironborn were full of confidence in victory, their fighting spirit was like fire, and their morale was high.

Generally speaking, short-handled axe soldiers only have one or two, while centurions and generals may carry three.

Swish!

The generals and soldiers drew their short-handled throwing axes one after another.

Throwing axes, a unique combat skill of the Ironborn, are very powerful and accurate.

"Defense!" Big Head shouted.

Boom!

More than one hundred and fifty shields were raised, and in just an instant, a tortoise shell formation was completed. The movements were incredibly fast, and every soldier's movements were very skilled, honed over and over again.

In order to prevent throwing axes, Big Head and the others were prepared.

Although the last time was a deliberate defeat, a strategy to make the enemy arrogant, the opponent's throwing axes were indeed very powerful. And reinforced iron shields were the best first layer of defense.

The edges of the rectangular shields were tightly stacked one after another, airtight, and stood upright on the ground, blocking the legs and waist. Above their heads, the round shields were like fish scales, overlapping one by one, an airtight tortoise shell protecting everyone, and every soldier was under the protection of the shield.

This scale-like formation trained by the Mountain had a fatal weakness: the backs of the soldiers in the last row could not be protected. If the enemy outflanked them from behind, they could instantly defeat this seemingly unassailable formation.

But the houses on both sides of the street well blocked the enemy's outflanking, unless they outflanked from another street.

Shoo shoo shoo!

Countless black shadows whistled out, and short-handled axes were thrown out to try out this strange, never-before-seen shield formation. The leading general stopped, his eyes full of surprise. It was the first time he had seen this kind of shield tortoise shell formation.

Bang bang bang!

The flying axes were thrown out and hit the shields. Some of the flying axes bit into the iron skin, some of the flying axes bit into the wood, and some of the flying axes fell to the ground.

"Advance!" Big Head shouted.

"Hoo!"

One hundred and fifty people roared together, and then, the entire formation was like one person, stepping forward with a bang.

"Advance!"

"Hoo!"

The second step was taken.

"Advance!" "Hoo!" Boom! Advance! " "Hoo! " Boom!

Opposite them were enemies with wide eyes.

"Brothers, fuck them, cut off their heads." The general raised his axe and launched a charge towards the tortoise shell.

The chaotic soldiers and centurions suddenly pounced on the tortoise shell.

"Hold steady!" Big Head shouted.

"Hoo!" The soldiers were tightly packed together row by row. One hundred and fifty people were a complete whole, a tightly defended giant.

Boom!

With a loud noise, a heavy axe slammed down, hitting a shield. The shield made an unbearable creaking sound, the iron skin was split, and the axe blade bit into the oak. The soldier under the shield groaned, his arm almost cracked, his body softened, and the brothers in front, behind, left, and right immediately protected him.

Boom boom boom!

Many axes chopped on the tortoise shell, and the tortoise shell began to shake, gaps appeared, and the shields showed cracks, but they were not yet smashed. The reinforced iron skin had a good defensive effect.

Shoo!

A short sword pierced out from the gap in the shield, hitting the pirate leader's thigh. The short sword retracted like lightning, and the shield closed, tightly sealed.

Shoo shoo shoo!

The rectangular shield on the ground only needed to be turned slightly to reveal a gap, and short swords pierced out from the gap, piercing into the enemy's unprotected legs.

The enemies in the first row were all hit by swords, not fatal, but unable to stand.

"Advance!" Big Head shouted.

"Hoo!"

One hundred and fifty people exerted their strength together and took a step forward. The short swords stabbed out, and the injured enemies could not stand and had to retreat.

"Fight!" Big Head shouted.

Then, the shields in the first row turned together, revealing narrow gaps, and short swords stabbed fiercely at the tightly attached enemies. The enemy's abdomen and thighs were the main attack targets. Above their heads, the fish-scale-like shields were layered on top of each other, without any mess. All the warriors in the first row bent over and bowed, and the warriors in the second row pressed tightly against their backs to prevent them from retreating.

Screams rang out. The leading general's thighs and abdomen were stabbed several times by Big Head and Jonea - short swords were better at breaking armor than long swords - and he could no longer stand. The guards quickly helped him up, but the back was crowded with soldiers, making it difficult to turn around. Short swords stabbed out densely in the lower three paths, and the pirates and Ironborn in the front were hit by swords, but most of the soldiers in the back did not know what was happening. They were crowded together, unable to attack the enemy, and unable to retreat.

Some pirates and Ironborn began to fall.

"Defense!" Big Head shouted.

Attacking must be at a suitable distance.

The tortoise shell formation reunited, and all the rectangular shields closed, airtight.

"Advance~" "Hoo!" Boom!

The tortoise shell formation took another step forward, tightly attached to the enemy, and the short swords stabbed out from the shield gaps like poisonous thorns, and screams were heard.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly," a centurion shouted.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way, the general is not doing well."

"Hold on, don't retreat," a general disagreed and shouted sharply.

"Hold on, cut open their shields, we are Ironborn."

"Advance, advance, hold them back, heavy axe, give me the heavy axe."

"I've been hit by a sword, save me."

"Everyone, form ranks, work together and take back the East Gate," a general agitated.

"Outflank, outflank!"

"Outflank to the back!" A messenger passed the message to the soldiers in the back.

"Outflank from the small street, surround them and kill them all," a soldier shouted, banging on his weapon.

"Outflank, outflank!"

Suddenly, a person was suddenly pushed backwards by a huge force, knocking down a large group of soldiers.

A javelin suddenly shot out, hitting the chest of the centurion who shouted the outflanking loudly. The javelin was so powerful that it pierced through his body, carrying his body and flying backwards like a heavy stone.

The javelin pierced through his chest, pierced out from his back, and also pierced another soldier on the spear!

One shot, two lives!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The sound of the wind whistling in the air, several javelins were black giant arrows that shot into the crowd, piercing several soldiers and killing them on the spot.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

More javelins shot over densely, shooting into the dense crowd. Every javelin took away the lives of one or even two people.

The Mountain led the cavalry over. On the street in the distance, the Mountain threw the javelins.

Throwing javelins is an essential basic skill for the Mountain's direct line cavalry. Each person has two javelins, which are extremely accurate.

Javelins, spears, long swords, short knives, bows and arrows, shield defense, and heavy armor are essential skills for the Mountain's most elite cavalry.

One gold dragon per person per month is the highest military salary in the Seven Kingdoms, exceeding that of the royal guards.

On the street not far away, the Clegane cavalry rotated in a spiral, each person with two javelins, whistling and shooting into the enemy's crowd.

The Mountain was in the front, the Red Smoke Beast's red eyes emitted a demonic red crystal light, and cavalrymen kept handing him javelins. Every time the Mountain threw a javelin, at least two people were pierced on the javelin and died on the spot. The power was so terrifying that everyone was frightened.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly."

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

"Go quickly, leave here."

"Get out of here quickly."

"Blow the horn, quickly, quickly, quickly!"

Woo woo woo woo woo!

The horn sounded on the long street, and the pirates and Ironborn retreated like a tide.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

The javelins continued to be thrown to chase and kill, piercing through the backs of the enemies.

"Free attack!" Big Head gave the order.

The shield formation disintegrated, and the soldiers rushed out.

The cavalry was extremely fast, and divided into several streets to block the enemy.

As the saying goes, a defeated army is like a landslide. As long as the enemy is defeated and flees, the battle scene can no longer be reversed. Infantry being chased and killed by cavalry is a destined ending.

On the tower of Earl Othell's main castle, the blind high priest Baelon Blacktyde released a raven to Euron Greyjoy. After a while, to be on the safe side, he released another raven. After a while, he released the third raven.

During wartime, there are special marksman scouts who shoot down the opponent's ravens.

He had warned Euron to be careful of the Mountain and Earl Othell, and that the Westerlands would not be easily conquered by him, but Euron did not think so. He believed that the Mountain, apart from his bravery, was not to be feared. And the Mountain's bravery was not terrible, and only dozens of bows and arrows could shoot him to death.

*

In the afternoon, the Crow's Eye's army advanced halfway.

The more legions, the slower the march, especially for the infantry.

Swish!

A raven circled in the sky, then flew down towards the Crow's Eye's central army.

Crow's Eye held out his hand, and the raven landed on his arm. A small iron cylinder was tied to the raven's leg. Crow's Eye untied the small iron cylinder, unscrewed the lid, pulled out a small parchment scroll, unfolded it, glanced at it, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Damn it, the Mountain has entered the city." Crow's Eye put the letter in his mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.

The generals looked at each other!

"Don't worry, there are more than ten thousand soldiers in the city, and the Mountain only has a little over a thousand, cavalry. They will be killed by our warriors, without a doubt." Crow's Eye laughed loudly, "The Mountain has no wisdom, only muscles and barbaric ferocity. I knew this long ago."

*

The ironborn leaders and pirate chiefs beside him were uneasy.

Their warships were all in Lannisport. If the Mountain entered the city with more than just a thousand cavalry, if they rushed into the port and set fire, they dared not imagine it.

The harbor was packed with warships. If a fire broke out, even escape would be impossible. Those ships were the ironborn's most precious wealth. There were too many warships and too few people left to guard them, making it impossible to move most of the ships.

*

Surrounding Crow's Eye were the island's prominent nobles: the Botley family, the Drumm family, the Goodbrother family, the Greyiron family, the Harlaw family, the Hoare family, the Merlyn family, the Stonehouse family, the Sunderly family, the Tawney family, the Wynch family, the Aymark family...

Among them, the Aymark family had three leaders by Crow's Eye's side: Ukk Aymark, Tomor Aymark, and Dagun Aymark, the three grandsons of Lord Eryk Aymark.

The Aymark family came from Orkmont, one of the seven largest islands of the Iron Islands.

The title of Earl of Eryk Aymark was ordinary, but his reputation was great. He was also known as 'Eryk the Just' and 'Eryk the Anvil-Breaker'. He was the most fearless reaver among the ironborn. In his prime, Eryk weighed about twenty stone. This year, he was eighty-nine years old. His hair was snow-white, and his thick beard was very long, also snow-white. The weapon he used was a hammer so large it was terrifying.

Eryk Aymark did not accompany Crow's Eye on the expedition. His age no longer allowed him to fight again, but he was Asha Greyjoy's lawful husband, and also Crow's Eye's appointed Governor of the Iron Islands and acting castellan of Pyke, ruling the seven islands of the Iron Islands in Crow's Eye's absence.

At the kingsmoot on Old Wyk, Eryk brought his three grandsons Ukk, Tomor, and Dagun as assistants. He sat on a sedan chair and recounted the many battles he had experienced, declaring himself just, wise, and powerful. He nominated himself as King of the Iron Islands, hoping that everyone present would accept his gifts—countless silver, copper, and iron coins, as well as arm rings, necklaces, daggers, and throwing axes.

Asha demanded that Eryk stand up, and said that if he could stand up, she would make him king. The Anvil-Breaker tried to stand up but failed, and stepped down amidst laughter.

When Crow's Eye finished his speech in the Grey King's Hall, Crow's Eye ordered his mute crew to carry out a box of gold and silver treasures and throw it in front of Eryk. Eryk accepted the wealth that surprised him, and he led his family to kneel before Crow's Eye and pledge allegiance.

After Crow's Eye obtained the Seastone Chair, as King of the Iron Islands and Asha's uncle, he publicly betrothed Asha to the eighty-nine-year-old Eryk. Asha, who had failed at the kingsmoot, agreed to the marriage. She claimed to go to the ship to fetch a gift for her husband. Crow's Eye agreed, but Asha never returned after boarding the ship.

After Asha fled Old Wyk, Crow's Eye consulted the blind high priest Baelon Blacktyde. After the priest prayed to the Drowned God and obtained permission, he had a seal complete the wedding in place of Asha and Eryk.

According to ironborn tradition and ancient ways, Eryk became Asha's lawful husband.

Euron Crow's Eye, who came to attack the Westerlands, appointed Eryk as the Warden of the Iron Islands and the acting castellan of Pyke during the war. He used Old Eryk's great prestige in the Iron Islands to rule them, and it was clear that Asha had no intention of returning to her new husband's side.

Eryk was once like brothers with the most valiant and invincible King Dagun Greyjoy of the Iron Islands, and their private friendship was deep. Dagun had extremely high prestige. He was the most warlike King of the Iron Islands in history, once striking fear into the hearts of the Seven Kingdoms' famous generals, sweeping through the Westerlands, the Riverlands, and the Reach. No one was a match for his warhammer. In the end, the Targaryen family had to send out dragons to conquer him again. The weapon Dagun used was a huge warhammer. After Dagun died, his good friend Eryk obtained Dagun's warhammer.

This was one of the reasons why Eryk's prestige was so high among the nobles of the Iron Islands, and also the confidence he had to nominate himself for the Seastone Chair.

*

The noble leaders around Crow's Eye were quite uneasy. The news brought by the blind high priest made the leaders unable to feel at ease, but Crow's Eye remained unmoved and ordered the army to speed up their advance, making sure to reach Clegane's Keep before dark.

Tywin had once bloodily washed Clegane's Keep. This time, Crow's Eye was going to uproot Clegane's Keep, burn all the villages and fields, and turn Clegane's Keep into ruins.

*

Ukk Aymark was huge and strong. The weapon he used was the same as his grandfather Eryk, a hammer so large it was terrifying. The descendants of the Aymark family were all tall and strong, as if they had giant blood. Ukk was the strongest among the descendants, over two meters tall, with strong arms and immense strength. A warhammer was carried for him by a special pony.

Others dared not speak, but Ukk dared.

"Your Grace, if the Mountain's main force is in Lannisport, we may not be able to return," Ukk said, voicing everyone's concerns.

Ukk's words opened the leaders' mouths.

The leaders said one after another that if the Mountain led his main force to take Lannisport, their warships would be in danger, and their wealth was all on the ships.

Crow's Eye's wealth was also all on his 'Silence'.

"The Mountain's main force cannot be in Lannisport. His main force is in Clegane's Keep," Crow's Eye said nonchalantly. "I have sent scouts around. If the Mountain's main force was near Lannisport, I would have received the news long ago. The Mountain's cavalry is fast and far from Lannisport, so the scouts were unable to detect it. The Mountain's main force is not cavalry, but swordsmen, archers, and spearmen, a mixed cavalry and infantry legion. If these people exceeded five thousand, it would be impossible to ambush nearby without being discovered by scouts."

"Your Grace, what if the Mountain wins with a thousand soldiers?" Ukk said, still worried.

*

Crow's Eye's heart skipped a beat. His ally Kevan had told him to be careful, careful, and even more careful. The Mountain had changed too much. In almost every letter, Kevan told Crow's Eye to be careful of the Mountain, saying that the Mountain had strong troops, many cunning tricks in battle, and many fanatical followers. Crow's Eye laughed and did not really take the Mountain to heart.

Crow's Eye had been a pirate for decades. More than a hundred years ago, he was driven out of the Iron Islands by Balon. After being exiled overseas, he started from scratch, from an ordinary mercenary to becoming the head of a small pirate gang, and finally owning hundreds of large warships and becoming the Pirate King who dominated the sea. He had only won battles all the way, and had developed serious narcissism and stubborn arrogance about his abilities.

From beginning to end, he had not really taken the Mountain and his Clegane army seriously.

Crow's Eye regarded Kevan's advice as weakness and a joke. Kevan was afraid of the Mountain, but Crow's Eye was not afraid. Kevan was a little flower following Tywin, while Crow's Eye was a sea monster king forged in the sea. He was not as timid as Kevan.

But Ukk's words made Crow's Eye uneasy. If the Mountain defeated his ten thousand garrison troops with a thousand men, he would lose his way back.

Since the Mountain was raiding Lannisport, it meant that he had made preparations to deal with it. If he was the Mountain, he would definitely not lead only a thousand people to raid, but at least three thousand elites.

On the sea, Crow's Eye knew the power of his ten thousand troops, but in the city, on land, could his naval soldiers stop the Mountain? Naval warriors lived and ate on ships all year round. After they jumped onto land, they needed an adaptation transition. In a short period of time, the combat power of many people would be effectively weakened.

The Mountain's bravery was unstoppable. Crow's Eye agreed with Kevan's warning on this point. No one could defeat the Mountain in close combat, but throwing axes and arrows were the Mountain's nemesis, and could severely damage the Mountain from a long distance. The elite archers had all left the city, but among the garrison soldiers, many were experts in the finger dance.

*

"Although the Mountain is brave, has immense strength, and has a unicorn and a Valyrian steel sword, he alone cannot stop our throwing axes."

"Throwing axes cannot break through the Mountain's plate armor. His plate armor is too thick. Throwing axes can at most kill the Mountain's Red Smoke beast," a leader said in a deep voice.

*

Crow's Eye stared intently. It was Count Drumm who was speaking.

From this short sentence, Crow's Eye heard that Drumm knew something about the Mountain.

Crow's Eye had heard of the Mountain's various legends from Kevan, but he had never told his subordinates any of the Mountain's outstanding points. He was used to and liked to block enemy information. Battle plans were always planned by Crow's Eye alone, and then he ordered his subordinates to execute them.

The Drumm family of Old Wyk, their history can be traced back to at least eight hundred years ago.

Old Wyk is considered the most sacred island by the ironborn and was the earliest colony of the First Men. On Old Wyk is the center of the ironborn faith—the Grey King's Hall.

The Grey King was the greatest king of the Iron Islands in history. He killed a dragon in the sea that was causing trouble and unrest, and dragged the dragon's body to the island of Old Wyk with warships. The dragon's bones were used as load-bearing pillars for the Grey King's Hall. The dragon's spine alone was as high as two masts. This bone stood behind the Grey King's Hall, with the Grey King's flag hanging on it: the Kraken flag.

The throne was installed in the dragon's mouth. This is the Iron Islands' famous Seastone Chair. The dragon's open jaws are the hall where the nobles deliberate.

This hall built with dragon bones is called the Grey King's Hall.

The title of "Lord of Old Wyk" declares the Drumm family's rule over the entire island. Other families on the island, such as the Stonehouse family, are under their rule.

Count Dunstan Drumm wore a Valyrian steel heirloom sword called "Red Rain" at his waist. Among the leaders led by Count Drumm were very famous Drumm family members in the Iron Islands: "Terrible" Dale, "Reaver" Rory, and "Old Daddy" Gormond. In addition, there were two of Dunstan's sons—Denys Drumm, his eldest son and heir, who was very brave and good at fighting, and Donnel Drumm, his second son, who was also a very outstanding warrior among the ironborn.

*

Count Drumm was worried that ten thousand sailors would be defeated by the Mountain's thousand men. His words cast an ominous shadow in Crow's Eye's heart. If he were the Mountain, since he was carefully planning to take Lannisport and cut off the enemy's retreat, he would definitely have a detailed plan to ensure that he took Lannisport.

Crow's Eye laughed loudly, not showing his worry at all. He remembered that the blind high priest Baelon had given him a piece of advice before leaving the city, telling him to be careful of the Mountain and Earl Odbur, whose strength should not be underestimated.

Crow's Eye felt a chill down his spine. This feeling was very bad. It was an intuitive reaction after sensing danger, and it was very effective.

"Count Dunstan, I want you to lead three thousand people back to check the situation."

"As you command, Your Grace," Dunstan Drumm bowed and accepted the order.

*

Suddenly there was a great commotion in front. Crow's Eye stood on the carriage and looked into the distance. In front, dust was rising, and the sound of hooves was like thunder. He didn't know how many cavalry were coming to charge the formation.

The generals were horrified when they saw the rolling dust in the distance.

They had never seen such a prestige on the sea.

More than a thousand new cavalry from Crackclaw Point, led by Ser Jekker of Lollys Stokeworth in the Westerlands, were on the left wing. Chief Joyce of the Boggs, Chief Soroq of Qoherys, and Chief Sench of Lychester led over a thousand cavalry on the right wing. The two cavalry forces roared and came to charge the formation.

"Defense!" Crow's Eye ordered.

Wooo! Woooooo!

The horns that the pirates used on the sea sounded on land.

"Archers, prepare," Crow's Eye shouted.

The messengers passed the word from mouth to mouth, shouting loudly, and passed the order to the front.

Three thousand archers were behind the swordsmen and shieldmen. They quickly spread out, bows in hand, drawing their bows together, arrows pointing to the sky, waiting for the enemy to enter range.

"Hold!" The young general Maron Volmark shouted loudly. He drew his long sword and shouted, "Hold, hold!"

The pirates and ironborn faced such a large-scale battle on land for the first time. They were all very excited, gripping their weapons tightly.

"Archers, hold!" The centurions of the archers shouted, their voices rising and falling.