Chapter 192: Devouring Souls

Stafford Lannister, with his thick hair, rested his chin on his right hand, pondering bitterly for a good while before saying:

"Stormborn must have gone to launch a surprise attack on Casterly Rock. In the current situation, as long as Casterly Rock falls, our soldiers' morale will inevitably waver."

Kevan, to his left, glanced at this mediocre kinsman, "I left three hundred elite soldiers inside the castle. If they truly think a dragon not yet two years old can make these soldiers yield, then we have no need to fight this war anymore."

Kevan did not exactly loathe Stafford, but he despised the man's repeated mistakes; it was these mistakes, accumulating bit by bit, that had caused House Lannister's power to hit rock bottom within a few months.

Stafford still insisted on his own viewpoint, arguing loudly: "Only Casterly Rock can sway the outcome of this battle. I believe we must send heavy crossbowmen back to reinforce the castle; the focus of the defense should be above the castle."

The steady Kevan shook his head, "Stormborn is only one person. Even if she rides a dragon into Casterly Rock, what can she do?"

Considering that Stafford had once allowed an army to be washed away by a flood at Stoney Sept in the Riverlands, he decided to ignore all of the man's suggestions.

But Kevan himself did not know what Daenerys Targaryen, riding a magic dragon and flying north, had gone to do.

"Those three dragons are still there; we won't worry about Stormborn, who flew away on a dragon," suggested Adam, who commanded the heavy cavalry.

Kevan nodded, approving the viewpoint of someone he considered reliable, and stopped thinking about this matter, focusing instead on the right flank about to engage in battle—the southern battlefield.

Stafford, on horseback, saw his suggestion was not adopted and said indignantly: "You won't even listen to the words of your own blood relative; I see no reason for me to stay here."

He had intended to go find his son Daven, but the Tyrell soldiers on the opposite side had already begun to charge toward the front of the right flank.

After looking around, Stafford and his few attendants left the center and rode toward the rear.

Seeing this, Kevan let out a sigh of relief while summoning a captain of a hundred, ordering:

"Go into Casterly Rock and order the garrison not to let Stafford enter. Tell the garrison they may let Stafford go stay in Lannisport."

The captain nodded to signal his understanding and rode away.

Just as the nobles in the center were discussing Daenerys Targaryen's whereabouts, the entire right flank had already begun to fight.

Because the Reachmen had fought the Dornishmen for hundreds of years, and Dornish soldiers had frequently used spears and other long weapons since the arrival of the Rhoynar, most Reach houses had organized quite complete shield walls.

Therefore, Leo Tyrell first used three hundred heavy infantrymen holding great shields to clear the path, with soldiers equipped with bucklers and hand-and-a-half swords following closely behind.

As for the 1,500 cavalry of this army, they were divided into two groups, circling around the flanks of the Westerlands right wing. Some cavalry were also equipped with crossbows or bows, executing "Kite Tactics" during the circling process—constantly firing arrows to strike the Westerlands infantry.

Facing such enemy tactics, Daven, commander of the Westerlands right wing, saw the situation and countered accordingly.

"Archers, aim forward, prepare to volley."

"William Hill, Humfrey Farman, you two take your heavy infantry and go protect the flanks and the rear."

Westerosi heavy infantry were generally fully armored warriors wearing plate-and-mail or brigandines, with weapons primarily consisting of flails, battle-axes, and two-handed greatswords.

Many knights and attendants were heavy cavalry while mounted, and could still serve as heavy infantry after dismounting, but since there were enough horses now, there was no need to waste them like that.

The two men called took their five hundred troops and left, quickly squeezing toward the rear and the flanks.

After the Westerlands right wing loosed a rain of arrows, the Reach sword-and-shield soldiers hiding behind the shield-bearers raised their bucklers to block the sky-filling rain of arrows.

Although the accuracy of such volleyed arrows was not great, the force was sufficient; if a critical part was not protected, one would lose the ability to fight on the spot if struck.

The nobles wearing full sets of plate armor naturally did not fear such random volleyed arrows, but it was different for the foot soldiers whose defenses were not as tight.

Dozens of foot soldiers fell to this rain of arrows. Leo Tyrell, gripping the hilt and blade of his greatsword with iron-gauntleted hands, looked back and glanced roughly at the casualty count, his heart suddenly aching.

These were all warriors piled up with money.

"Advance quickly, charge to the front line for me!"

Leading nobles generally had astonishing lung power, and Leo Tyrell was no exception. He shouted his orders to the standard-bearer and the surrounding soldiers, and thus the Reach army's attack speed accelerated abruptly.

After two volleys of arrows, the two bodies of infantry collided fiercely, like two waves crashing into each other, splashing spray as they smashed together.

The slaughter of thousands of people officially began.

At the same time, the Reach cavalry circling to the rear finally arrived. After a simple formation, they began a Wall Charge.

The leading nobles and knights were armored, as were their horses; the mere sound of thousands of hooves smashing into the ground was enough to make the heavy infantry lined up in defense tremble with fear.

"Hold the line—"

Knights William Hill and Humfrey Farman, sent out by Daven, tried their best to make their men face the enemy, but the foot soldiers had no other choice; there were people behind them, and there was nowhere to flee.

Just over ten minutes after the battle began, the entire southern battlefield was already burning hot.

Several hundred meters away, the King, holding a monocular telescope, stared closely at the battlefield, feeling that the side there should be able to hold until Garlan led his army to arrive.

The very reason he arranged for the Tyrells and the Reach houses to be on the south was this: his own soldiers would engage in a fierce battle with the Westerlands army, and Garlan and his Reach army would surely give their all.

"The Westerlands left wing consists of newly conscripted peasant soldiers; their equipment, weapons, and combat capabilities are lagging in every aspect. Only that Lannisport Garrison still has some combat power. Pass the order down, let Innes Frey also start the battle quickly, drag the Westerlands left wing into the battlefield as well, and do not let Kevan have the spare energy to escape."

Arthur I ordered loudly.

A knight from the Riverlands, Hugo Vance, went to convey the King's order.

A few minutes later, the battle also broke out on the north side.

The bald Innes had at least some basic vision.

The only truly combat-capable troops of the Westerlands left wing were the Lannisport Garrison, numbering around one thousand.

This garrison was one of the three great garrisons of Westeros; the other two were the Oldtown City Watch and the King's Landing City Watch.

Although the Lannisport Garrison's fame was far inferior to the other two, it was better trained.

After losing to an opponent at a certain tourney, the legendary knight Duncan the Tall once wanted to join the Lannisport Garrison, which shows how highly recognized this police-and-city-management style army was by knights.

"Symond, you take the new recruits and launch the attack first. Hosteen, the cavalry is under your command; wait until the Lannisport Garrison is dragged into the battlefield, then charge into the enemy and scatter those peasant soldiers."

Marquess Innes briefly laid out the strategy.

Previously, The Twins had re-recruited 1,500 new soldiers, who joined King Arthur I's army.

Regarding this army, Marquess Folei felt they could be treated as expendables, letting them clash with the Lannisport Garrison for a while, and then it would be most appropriate for the veterans to go in and reap the rewards.

As for the peasant soldiers newly recruited by the various Westerlands houses, Innes believed that as long as the cavalry scattered their formation, the entire army would fall into chaos.

Without long-term training, the soldiers had no sense of strictly holding their formation; as long as a few foot soldiers broke away from their companions, the entire battlefield would collapse directly.

The still-well-trained Frey army slowly executed their lord's instructions.

Led by the dismounted knight Symond Frey, 1,500 new Frey soldiers took the lead and charged toward the Westerlands left wing.

In order to minimize losses as much as possible, the small number of cavalry in this section were all ordered to dismount and fight.

The Frey cavalry led by Ser Hosteen continued north, and they would only launch their attack after circling to the flank.

……

Kevan always believed that a competent Commander must observe the battlefield situation in time and then adjust their strategy.

The movement of the thousands of Frey men on the north side could not escape the eyes of the Westerlanders, and the predicament of the left flank immediately reached the ears of the nobles in the center.

Terrence Crakehall immediately requested, "Lord Kevan, please allow me to lead a force to defend against the Frey cavalry's attack."

His eldest son, Lyle Crakehall, was the commander of the left flank, so this old count, whose hair had already begun to gray, could not help but feel a bit worried.

His second son, Lyle Crakehall, was still locked in the water cells of Riverrun; if his eldest son died in this battle, he would truly have nowhere to cry.

Adam the Oarman also supported reinforcing the left flank, "Ser, our center is entirely cavalry, with heavy cavalry reaching thirty-five hundred, while the Dragonrider's center is only four thousand Riverlands Soldiers, whose combat effectiveness is far inferior to ours; sending light cavalry over is not a problem at all."

Although the Freys were wealthy, their military equipment only maintained the upper-tier standard of the Riverlands, and they were some distance away from the heavy cavalry of the Westerlands, The Vale, and the Reach.

Apart from the armor of the nobles, the average equipment level of the Frey cavalry was roughly equivalent to Lannister light cavalry.

Kevan glanced at the battlefield in the south that had already fallen into entanglement, then looked far into the distance at the Riverlands Army directly opposite.

His gaze swept over the uneven armor and finally rested on those dozens of banners.

"The knife-and-horse banner, the farmer banner, the silver eagle banner, the shield-and-horse banner, the dancing maiden banner, and the two Vance banners."

He had already recognized the sigils of most of the Riverlands houses.

"With soldiers like these, thirty-five hundred heavy cavalry are enough to defend against them."

Kevan finally made a decision, "Let Ser Tytos Brax lead the troops to reinforce the left flank."

He designated the heir of Hornvale as the commander of the light cavalry.

The young knight who was pointed out rode out of the ranks, nodded to the nobles, then lightly pricked his horse's flanks with his heels and headed toward the position where the light cavalry was located.

Over the next half hour, the battlefields in the north and south changed slowly yet intensely.

With the reinforcement of one thousand light cavalry, the Frey cavalry did not quickly tear open a gap in the Westerlands' left flank, nor could they disperse the peasant soldiers.

Meanwhile, the Lannisport Garrison was quite valiant, fighting to a draw against an enemy force that outnumbered them by fifty percent. Both sides maintained their formations only in the initial stage, after which they began to fight in a chaotic melee.

The smell of blood began to spread across the entire battlefield, and the three Dragons, having flown enough in the sky, would occasionally dive into the two battlefields, snatch up severed limbs and remains in areas with fewer people, then dash upward and fly to the rear of the Riverlands Army to eat.

Among them, Alduin ate the most joyfully.

Gendry, who was at the very edge of the Riverlands nobles, saw this scene and ran to the King to ask:

"Your Grace, should I stop Alduin from eating this meat?"

He felt that a Dragon eating severed limbs was not a good phenomenon, so he came to ask for the King's opinion.

"No need, it's not like he's eating living people." Arthur I waved his hand, telling Gendry to rest easy.

The growth of a Dragon requires the accumulation of flesh and blood; disturbing them while they eat is a very life-wasting act.

Moreover, according to Arthur's observation, Alduin seemed to have the ability to grow rapidly through devouring.

This true name might imply the ability to devour souls; the last time that forest witch was eaten by Alduin, it made him grow a significant amount.

So Arthur wanted to see if devouring could make him grow faster.

Just then, a First Men soldier from the Crab's Claw Peninsula who had squeezed in from the rear approached behind the King's red warhorse and whispered, "Your Grace!"

When Arthur I turned his head and saw this person, he knew that Bernard Brune and the Rowan soldiers were already in position.

After nodding lightly to the man, he pretended to be indifferent and continued to stare at the battle ahead.

The First Men soldier from the Crab's Claw Peninsula bowed slightly and then left quickly.

The King had already issued the order to attack.

……

An hour later, Adam the Oarman finally could not hold back any longer.

"Innes in the north is clearly holding back, and the battle in the south is also becoming clear; the Reachmen are no match for Daven and the infantry. Should we launch the general offensive?"

This heir of House Marbrand was convinced that the four thousand Riverlanders opposite could not withstand this heavy cavalry force under his command.

This was the largest heavy cavalry legion in Westeros.

A trace of doubt suddenly appeared on Kevan's face, "Both the northern and southern battlefields show signs of decline, so why is the Dragonrider still so calm? Is he not afraid that one battlefield will collapse and he will lose the entire war?"

Although victory was near, the steady Kevan suddenly felt that something was not quite right.

The three Dragons had not joined the battle either; what exactly was this Arthur doing?

Adam the Oarman was very dismissive, "You don't need to overestimate the Dragonrider's military strategy so much; he is known for his bravery and invincibility, not his intelligence. I think he might be experiencing such a large-scale battle for the first time, so he hasn't thought that far ahead."

The other nobles also advised one after another:

"If we defeat the enemy's center, then victory will not be far from us."

"The young dragon's combat power is not yet strong; if we kill the Dragonrider, the situation might turn into something else."

Kevan hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is there any movement from Casterly Rock?"

The officer responsible for watching the rear replied, "There is no situation at all; the Stormborn's dragon has not appeared either, and Ser Stafford has also gone to the port."

With the rear stable, Kevan had a bit of confidence.

"Then the whole army attacks! Everyone mount up, we are going to scatter the Dragonrider's peasant soldiers!"

The high morale of the Commander was transmitted to the Lannister cavalry; in just over ten minutes, this army was ready and began to charge at the Riverlands Army hundreds of meters away.

Just after these ten thousand hooves began to move, behind the hills on the southern battlefield, an extremely powerful and vigorous large cavalry unit suddenly appeared.

Boom, boom, boom!

Even while in the midst of his own cavalry army, Kevan still felt the strength of the enemy.

A cavalry legion of at least four or five thousand men! He immediately made his judgment.

"The leading banner is quartered, with a golden rose, a purple grape, a red apple, and a tall tower." A certain noble told Kevan loudly.

"It looks like Garlan; among the Tyrells, only he has a connection with the Red Apple Fossoway."

Adam the Oarman, galloping on his horse, judged it so.

Kevan was agitated, "Charge through first; once we scatter the Riverlands Army, we will then engage this force."

His own Cavalry's Wall Charge had already begun and could not be stopped; they had no choice but to defeat the Riverlands Army opposite them first before making other plans.

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