Chapter 130: The Decisive Battle Approaches

The Golden Road, near Deep Den.

In the central command tent of the Bolton-Karstark coalition, the Leech Lord and his spy were exchanging intelligence as per their routine.

At first, upon hearing that Arthur had led men to take Golden Tooth, the expression of Marquess Bolton was still normal, until he heard a piece of news he could not believe.

With a face full of astonishment, Roose Bolton stared at his spy, "Say that again!"

The spy also sensed that his master's tone was off, and replied cautiously: "To win over several nobles in the northern Westerlands, King Robb took Jeyne Westerling as his wife. That family brought the King fifty soldiers, and subsequently, twelve hundred cavalry from House Frey deserted the King's army."

The Leech Lord's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

He added, asking: "When did this happen?"

The spy thought for a moment, "It roughly occurred after we departed from Riverrun. At the time, the King was slightly wounded while attacking The Crag, and news reached him that Theon Greyjoy had led Ironborn to raid Winterfell. This dealt a double blow to the King in the North, and so..."

Roose Bolton was furious, growling in a low voice: "So he married a Westerlands 'noblewoman' who could only provide him with fifty soldiers, and let twelve hundred—oh no, over three thousand Frey soldiers desert his army."

The spy whispered in reply: "The two thousand Frey infantry with Arthur Bracken have not yet declared their stance!"

"Is there a difference?" Bolton gripped his hands tightly, "For the sake of my house's great cause, I can marry a fatty as my wife; for the sake of a pretty girl, he can treat his most powerful vassal like a monkey."

House Frey has always been despised by the continent's nobles, and Walder Frey was mocked by his own liege lord, Duke Hoster, for a lifetime. Having finally climbed the high branch of House Stark, they never expected to be played like this.

That the Frey army did not join the Westerlands Army on the spot was already giving the King in the North a great deal of face.

After taking a deep breath, he muttered to himself: "Counting the deeds of the Young Wolf, his various actions before Riverrun could be called those of a wise lord. But crowning himself, releasing Theon, and marrying a Westerlands woman to offend the Freys—these three things make me doubt his brain. Did Duke Eddard not teach him how to be a good Jiaodu?"

"Duke Eddard himself never received such an education; his head was full of 'As High as Honor', acting just like a Knight," the spy said, following his master's lead.

Eddard Stark was the foster son of Jon Arryn and was originally cultivated with the positioning of a Commander and a warrior, and was influenced by the Arryn family motto "As High as Honor," so his actions were the complete opposite of the historical "head wolves," the Starks.

It was only because Eddard, who never lost a battle during the Usurper's War, had enough prestige and influence (the Battle at the Tower of Joy being unknown to others) that he was able to hold down the entire North.

Roose Bolton stood up and walked to the map hanging on the side; the spy cleverly held a candle and moved closer.

"Crowning himself had the instigation of Greatjon and others, and there were already three kings at the time, so I can tolerate that. Releasing Theon caused the North to be threatened, but my lands are in the east, where the Ironborn never reach, so I could also tolerate that mistake. But offending the Freys is something I truly cannot tolerate. Isn't this already a lost cause?"

In the current situation, the Westerlands Army has a main force of fifteen thousand and a New Army of three thousand.

Of the four thousand at Golden Tooth, fifteen hundred were captured, over a thousand died in battle, and the rest fled into the deep mountains, becoming stragglers.

If House Frey did not break away from the Fish-Wolf Alliance, the Young Wolf would have fourteen thousand men. Considering the Westerlands' New Army does not have much combat power, the alliance's strength would not be too small.

The Leech Lord looked at the map of the south again and asked: "What about Storm's End and Bitterbridge? Are there any major movements?"

The spy swallowed and answered in a low voice: "Duke Renly was killed outside Storm's End. Stannis obtained the fifteen thousand men there, and another five thousand cavalry fled to the Reach. When the news reached Bitterbridge, the great army rioted on the spot. Marquess Randyll Tarly took action to suppress it, killing two or three thousand people before stabilizing the situation. Now those sixty thousand men remain in place, waiting for House Tyrell to place their bets."

Although Renly claimed to have an army of one hundred thousand, twenty thousand were camp followers like geishas, circus performers, and servants; only eighty thousand were warriors holding weapons. Of these eighty thousand, another twenty thousand were taken by him to Storm's End to confront his brother.

Roose Bolton did not speak, so the spy had to continue: "It is rumored that Tywin has already sent his brother, Ser Kevan, along the Ocean Road to Highgarden to discuss important matters with Duke Mace's mother."

Although Duke Mace is the Commander of the Reach army, his own ability is mediocre; one can see his military talent from the fact that it required Randyll Tarly to suppress the mutiny.

Moreover, the true controller of the Reach is the mother of the "Puffed-up Fish," the Queen of Thorns, so the Lions going to negotiate with Olenna Tyrell is the right path.

"What are the movements of Lady Stark and the Vale?"

"After following Renly to Storm's End, Lady Stark's whereabouts are unknown. No news has come out of the Vale; it is estimated that they are still sitting still as before."

"Lost." Roose Bolton groaned powerlessly, then walked back to his chair and threw himself into it.

The Leech Lord closed his eyes and pondered: if my four thousand men were not here, the Young Wolf would have at most seven thousand men. No matter how well he fights, he cannot defeat the Westerlands' fifteen thousand main force plus three thousand new soldiers.

Not to mention that the Reach Army has not yet declared its stance. If these sixty thousand also stand with the Lions, then...

Lysa of the Vale does not even give her own sister face; now that the situation for the Fish and Wolf houses is unfavorable, it is even more impossible for them to send troops.

"This ship is sinking; it's precarious now. I must change to a big ship, a reliable ship," the Leech Lord whispered.

The spy leaned into his master's ear: "As it happens, a relative of yours wishes to see you; he can point out the direction for you."

Marquess Bolton was slightly stunned, not understanding the meaning of his confidant.

The latter slipped out quietly, and before long, brought in a guest wearing a gray robe and a hooded cloak.

The guest lifted his hood and introduced himself: "Marquess Bolton, may you live long. I am the second uncle of your new wife, Aemon Frey."

The dowry of House Frey is silver equal to the weight of the bride. To maximize his interests, Marquess Bolton chose the fattest Frey woman, Walda Frey.

This woman is the second daughter of Merrett, the ninth son of Walder Frey. Aemon, who is in the Lion camp, is indeed her second uncle.

"I am a loyal subject of King Robb. Aren't you afraid that I will skin you alive for running into the camp of us Northmen?"

The Leech was troubled by the matter of jumping ship, and Aemon's intent was clear without asking, but he still pretended to be loyal to Robb to sell himself for a good price.

Aemon Frey felt a bit timid inside, but bit the bullet and stated his purpose:

"After the Frey cavalry left, old Karstark was troubled by the pain of losing his son and killed several captives. He has already been beheaded by Robb on the grounds of enforcing military discipline, and seven hundred Karhold cavalry subsequently left as well. The Queen of Thorns has already agreed to join forces with our House Lannister. The false king Robb is already deserted by his followers. Does Lord Bolton have no thoughts on this?"

Because Aemon had long lived in Casterly Rock with his wife, the "sharp-tongued" Genna Lannister, he often considered himself a Lion.

"My loyalty to House Stark is visible to the gods," Bolton emphasized his cheap loyalty again, "You can try to name a price and see if the steadfast me will be bought by the weak and powerless Lions."

These words made Aemon feel secure; as long as a price was mentioned, there was nothing Duke Tywin could not afford.

The wealthiest noble house in Westeros is not just a saying.

"First, let's state our requirements: you must lead your army to Robb's side, first pretend to gain his trust, and when the decisive battle comes, stab the wolf cubs in the back. As for what you get: Warden of the North is the minimum, and Winterfell can also be inherited by the ancient House Bolton. In terms of money, ten times the silver of my niece's weight, how about that?"

Aemon weighed his words and stated three conditions. But this was still far from the bottom line given by Duke Tywin.

"There is a large amount of silver near Silverhill south of Deep Den. I can lead my army to mine it myself, and then retreat to my North."

The main force of the Lions is still confronting Robb in the central Westerlands. The troops near Deep Den, Hornvale, and Silverhill are very few, and Marquess Bolton, who has four thousand soldiers, can indeed come and go as he pleases.

Aemon thought for a moment, "Then it will be changed to ten carts of silver. After we deal with the false king, we will attack Riverrun. At that time, Sansa in the city can be yours, and Lady Stark is still in the south; we will let her die quietly in the countryside. All the Northern soldiers who went south, except for your men, will die. Are these conditions enough?"

"My loyalty to King Robb is more than just this. Houses like Manderly are still loyal to the Wolf house; their White Harbor cavalry hasn't moved yet."

Of the four great houses of the North, the Dustins only sent a tiny number of people south, while the Manderlys sent fifteen hundred, with at least two thousand more remaining in their territory.

Coincidentally, one of these supports the Wolf house, and the other opposes it.

Aemon hardened his heart and stated the bottom line: "After we deal with Stannis, there will be two thousand Lannister elite troops heading north to follow the new Warden of the North in pacifying the forces supporting the false king."

"My loyalty to the Iron Throne is visible to the gods. May King Tommen Baratheon live long," the Leech Lord quickly changed his statement.

Upon learning of Joffrey's death, Queen Regent Cersei had already ordered Tommen to inherit the throne.

Aemon was very satisfied with the attitude of Lord Bolton, oh no, Duke.

The two discussed for a long time in the tent, finalizing all the details.

Finally, they swore to the Seven and the Old Gods, cementing this alliance with a Sacred Oath.

The next day, Roose Bolton led his army west along the Golden Road, while simultaneously sending men to inform the King in the North of his route.

Afterwards, under the lure of the eight hundred-plus North Army led by Arthur Bracken, the main force of the Westerlands began to retreat to reinforce Lannisport.

Five days later, the Bolton battalion and the southward-moving Robb battalion joined forces, preparing for a decisive battle against the Westerlands Army on the flat coastal land.

……

Half a league from Lannisport, Arthur's battalion was setting up camp.

In the main command tent, Smalljon, Greatjon, Rona Stout, and others were staring at each other.

Arthur was also looking at the enemy and his own troop distribution marked on the map, feeling a bit uneasy.

The Battle of Golden Tooth was half a month ago; after being intercepted by Arthur and the others, Daven led his men back near the South Gate. After the slaughter, over fifteen hundred Westerlands soldiers, squeezed until they couldn't even breathe, surrendered, while others took advantage of the chaos to climb the mountains and flee.

The spoils of war far exceeded the imagination of the coalition soldiers; to avoid inciting a mutiny, Arthur ordered three carts of Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Jinzi to be distributed on the spot.

Of course, the Gold Dragon coins stolen from the Riverlands nobles were also exchanged back, and Arthur then had them returned to the Nan'an nobles on the spot.

It was just that after receiving the Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Jinzi, the soldiers lost the desire to fight to the death for wealth, and most began to cherish their lives, which caused Arthur's battalion to stay in Golden Tooth for two days to resolve the morale issue.

Afterwards, the Frey cavalry led by Lyman Frey arrived at Golden Tooth.

Because they had declared a neutral stance in the great war, and the relatively honest Stevron had already died in battle, Arthur did not dare let this group enter the city.

But Lothar Frey gave his word that he could make the Frey family of the eldest branch listen, and in the end, the Frey cavalry were allowed to pass through Golden Tooth and return to the Riverlands.

Most of the Frey infantry also left with them.

Innes and Lothar had agreed to raise an army to fight for the Iron Throne for Arthur, who possessed dragons, not to follow him and serve other kings.

Moreover, Lothar and the others still had to go to The Twins to deal with Lyman, Black Walder, and the rest of the eldest branch, so staying in Golden Tooth would also delay things.

Fortunately, Olyvar, Roslin Frey's maternal half-brother, was intercepted by Arthur; loyal to Robb, he was still somewhat useful.

After multiple negotiations, two hundred Frey infantry remained in Golden Tooth in the name of protecting Olyvar, and also participated in the city's defense.

Donnel Locke of The North stayed behind with three hundred North soldiers to defend the city; of course, they also had to deal with the massive number of prisoners.

For ease of management, all prisoners had their hands and feet bound and were then locked in an abandoned mine cave somewhere outside the city.

Amory Lorch's head had already been pickled and sent to Riverrun; to make it more festive, this head was placed inside a large pie.

The outside of the pie was a proper pie made by putting bacon, cheese, and other ingredients into a pie crust, mixing in egg liquid pre-prepared with heavy cream and milk, and baking it in an oven.

This act was merely out of mischief, but what Arthur did not expect was that months later, the Lorch Pie would become a trendy snack all over the south bank of the Red Fork.

When some Riverlands nobles met, they would often greet each other with, "Have you eaten Lorch Pie yet?"

Even more miraculously, a few months later, the Bolton Pie, which originated in Winterfell, also became a popular North delicacy.

Back to the main topic.

After leaving five hundred soldiers to guard the city, Arthur took over eight hundred men and headed straight for Casterly Rock and Lannisport along the River Road.

He had thought this small force wouldn't attract the main force of the Lion family, but Duke Taiwen gave Arthur much face; first, he sent three thousand New Army to garrison Lannisport, and later he personally led fifteen thousand main troops south to guard his base camp.

This greatly improved the survival space for Robb's battalion, allowing them to move south and join forces with the Bolton battalion, preparing for the decisive battle with the Westerlands Army.

The current situation was that Taiwen's battalion was around Casterly Rock, and the combined army of Robb and Bolton was two leagues north of Casterly Rock.

Arthur's mini-army was east of Lannisport, and the port was southwest of Casterly Rock.

Greatjon's son, Smalljon Umber, was sent to convey the order of the King in the North and the Trident:

"Your battalion's force is too small, so you will not participate in the attack on Taiwen's main force during the decisive battle from tomorrow night to the next morning, but will be responsible for guarding and harassing the enemy in the direction of the port, as well as intercepting fleeing deserters."

As with his usual Tactics, the Young Wolf still decided to start with a night raid.

It was just that there were too many soldiers participating in this great battle this time, so the fighting might last until the next morning.

Arthur nodded, indicating he understood this instruction.

Although his own force did not have the advantage, with the blessing of the Direwolf, night battles had always been the strong suit of the North Army.

It was just unknown if Taiwen Laoye had summarized any experience from the several previous night raids.

"Qyburn, who is commanding the New Army inside Lannisport?" Arthur asked.

He wanted to determine if there would be enemies from the port direction participating in the battle.

Qyburn flipped through his notebook, "Stafford Lannister, he is a very mediocre Lion family general."

"Isn't that a coincidence, his son is still in my hands."

Because Dickon had previously introduced that Stafford was a mediocre man who only entered the Lion family's power center because his sister married Taiwen, Arthur could still distinguish the family relationships of the lions.

"We aren't fighting until tomorrow night; tomorrow morning, someone go outside the port and ask Stafford if he is willing to pay a cart of Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Jinzi to exchange for his son."

Arthur said casually.

Smalljon was very dissatisfied, "What, you want to use this prisoner to exchange for Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Jinzi? Without the order of the King in the North, don't even think about doing that."

He was not yet familiar with Arthur, so he had a business-like demeanor.

Greatjon glared at his son and defended, "Arthur naturally has his reasons for doing this."

"This is a ruse. The Westerlands people will never expect us to have a decisive battle so quickly. As long as we propose exchanging the prisoner for Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Jinzi, Stafford will never lead his troops to attack us before he gets his son back."

Arthur explained to everyone.

They only had eight hundred people here; even if the combat effectiveness of the Lion family's three thousand New Army was poor, if they all attacked together, they still couldn't handle it.

"I'll go," Smalljon said after hearing the explanation, volunteering to head to the port.

The matter was settled just like that.

The next day, everything proceeded according to plan.

Stafford promised to raise enough Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Jinzi within two days, while demanding that the Northmen not harm his son.

But he did not wait to exchange for Daven before the great battle had already broken out.

At midnight, Arthur and the others, having long since eaten and slept their fill, were fully dressed and geared up, looking toward the northeast where the fighting had already begun.

The sounds of slaughter from there could be heard even from a league away.

"I can't take it anymore, let's go join the battle there!" the bellicose Greatjon was the first to speak up.

Subsequently, Smalljon Umber, Rona Stout, and the others all expressed their desire to fight for the King in the North.

Arthur glanced at Lannisport, which remained completely still, and gave the order in a deep voice: "Fine, we go north and kill those red-cloaks."

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(End of this chapter)