Chapter 24: God of the Hammer

"What? My own nephew has already started fighting with that old thing Tytos?" Count Janos asked in disbelief upon hearing the sentinel's report.

After they set out yesterday, they first traveled upstream to a flat riverbank where the Blackwood surveillance was lax to land, then followed the route of Arthur and Andrew in a forced march, finally catching up by the afternoon of the second day.

"Yes, both sides have already begun fighting. Currently, Ser Andrew and Lord Arthur are struggling to hold on, and the Tully soldiers are also gathering, looking as if they are preparing to break up the fight," the sentinel reported with rapid-fire speed.

Janos nodded and dismissed the sentinel.

Then he ordered the army to accelerate.

Hans Darry, a Free Knight, stayed by his side and suggested:

"My Lord Count, the battlefield is only half a day's journey from here, but if we accelerate, the soldiers will be exhausted upon arrival. It would be better to march slowly to conserve strength so we have combat effectiveness."

Janos thought for a moment, "The Blackwood soldiers are also fighting and will be even more tired than us. If we arrive late and Brynden is snatched away by them, then what was the point of us mobilizing such a large force?"

Janos had already made up his mind to get his hands on Brynden, and at this moment, he would not take anyone's advice to heart.

Moreover, they had 1,500 men, which gave them an advantage over the force of just over a thousand Blackwood soldiers reported by the sentinel.

The army carried out the Count's will and accelerated toward the battlefield.

Meanwhile, on the upper reaches of the Red Fork, aboard a Tully merchant ship.

"Why do you think they started fighting?" Edmure was extremely distressed, "Count Janos just visited my seriously ill father, and he was perfectly normal at the time."

He was the eldest son of the Riverrun Protector, Duke Hoster, and also the nephew of Eddard Stark.

The incident happened suddenly, and in order to transport enough soldiers to separate the two houses, they were forced to use cargo merchant ships to transport troops.

"Perhaps they were just too idle," Desmond Grell, the Master-at-arms of Riverrun, replied casually.

Edmure was worried, "If they fight such a big battle, is it because they think I am too young and therefore can do whatever they want?"

He always felt that the lords beneath him looked down on him, and with his father seriously ill, the burden of House Tully had fallen onto his shoulders just like that.

Desmond advised, "That is absolutely not the case. Although you are young, you still have prestige. From Maidenpool to Pinkmaiden, which of the Riverlands people does not think you are magnanimous?"

Although he said this, the middle-aged, sturdy man muttered in his heart, so you know you are young too.

"Are we almost at the battlefield? How is the situation?" Edmure stood on the deck for a while before remembering to ask about the battle.

"Blackwood has a numerical advantage, but House Bracken is fighting very hard, so it is hard to say who has the upper hand," Desmond replied.

As the Master-at-arms and commander, he actually knew that Bracken had fallen into a trap this time.

After all, one side had a few hundred men and the other had over a thousand, a ratio of nearly one to three, and with similar armor and weapons, there was no suspense in the battle's outcome.

Therefore, he hoped the ship's speed would be fast enough; as long as the Tully soldiers and Edmure arrived, Blackwood would not dare to push too hard, and by then, House Bracken might have a few men left.

"How should I adjudicate when we get there?" Edmure turned to look at the Master-at-arms, "This is my first time dealing with such a conflict between vassals, and I don't know how to handle it."

"There are precedents for such things, after all, the two houses have been fighting for thousands of years. See who encroached on whose territory first and make them pay some Gold Dragons; additionally, have both sides compensate for each other's military losses."

Edmure was not very sure, "Is it just a penalty of some Gold Dragons? Would that be too light? Robert is so lenient, yet he still reduced the lands of House Darry."

Desmond said firmly, "No. Every house in the Riverlands knows that the two houses are like fire and water, and they have not openly defied the orders of House Tully, so there is no need for too heavy a punishment."

Hearing the Master-at-arms' words, Edmure felt reassured, so he said no more and waited quietly for the ships to carry them to the battlefield not far downstream.

Before long, the fleet sailing downstream carrying nearly a thousand Tully soldiers arrived at the battlefield.

There was no ferry landing, so the soldiers had to jump into the river and walk ashore.

Edmure and the other noble Knights fared much better; they were carried ashore by others, so their legs did not get wet at all.

By this time, the battle had entered a white-hot stage. Although Bracken clearly had fewer men, a tall warrior was exceptionally brave, wielding a Great Hammer and rampaging across the field.

With one swing, he could hammer over a Blackwood soldier, often leaving them with armor shattered and flesh torn.

Desmond estimated that in the short time it took to get ashore, this warrior had already killed over twenty soldiers.

"Truly invincible, to think Bracken has such a man!" Desmond exclaimed, then ordered the soldiers to shout and stop the fighting.

In areas where the fighting was not as intense, heavily armed Tully soldiers entered in large numbers, striving to separate the soldiers of the two houses.

After a long time, they finally made the armies of the two houses stop hacking at each other.

Desmond shouted sternly, "What is the meaning of this? Do you not know that Duke Hoster has issued an order that vassals are strictly forbidden from attacking each other?"

Then he had the Tully soldiers drive the survivors of both houses to gather together and began to clear the battlefield and treat the wounded.

The Blackwood soldiers gradually gathered toward the nobles, with Count Tytos protected in their midst.

Looking at the significantly reduced number of soldiers, the Count actually felt a trace of fear.

He estimated that of the 1,300 soldiers, only half remained, and nearly half of the losses were contributed by that one man.

That man, the one who had switched to a Great Hammer after his sword broke, had killed over a hundred soldiers all by himself, scaring him, who was watching from the sidelines, until his legs went weak.

He had also led troops to participate in the battle at the Ruby Ford between Prince Rhaegar and Robert.

Even Robert, the bravest in the Seven Kingdoms, had not given him such a visual impression.

With one hammer blow, a normal soldier wearing an iron helmet would have white fluid burst out.

Even The Mountain could not do that, could he!

He was simply a god of slaughter.

Arthur looked at the hundred or so remaining Bracken soldiers beside him, beginning to worry about whether he could pay back the debt of Stone Hedge.

Counting at one hundred per person, that was a full forty thousand Gold Dragons.

As for the worshipful eyes of the soldiers beside him who saw him as a god of war, he did not pay much attention.

The recent battle had given him a lot of experience, so in the later stages of the fight, he was able to level up again.

He continued to add attribute points to Strength, one skill point to Athletics, one to Riding, and weapon points continued to be added to Two-handed Weapon.

【Baron: Arthur Bracken】

【Level: 4】

【Experience: 2466/3000】

【Strength: 17】

【Agility: 11】

【Intelligence: 7】

【Charisma: 9】

【Skills: Ironflesh 4, Power Strike 7, Power Throw 1, Power Draw 1, Weapon Mastery 2, Shield 0, Athletics 1, Riding 4, Horse Archery 0, Looting 0, Trainer 0, Tracking 0, Tactics 1, Pathfinding 0, Spotting 0, Wound Treatment 0, Surgery 0, First Aid 0, Engineering 0, Persuasion 1, Prisoner Management 0, Leadership 3, Trade 0】

【Weapon Proficiency: One-handed Weapon 74, Two-handed Weapon 115, Polearm 77, Archery 31, Crossbow 31, Throwing 31】

Andrew also survived, but his condition was not very good.

His left arm hung limp at his side, and his right thigh was bleeding.

Although his body had suffered heavy trauma, he was in high spirits, "Lord Arthur, how did you hone your combat skills? Why are you able to dominate the battlefield alone like that? Can you teach me?"

"It might be talent!" Arthur was troubled by a debt crisis and did not want to delve into this topic.

The Tully family finally succeeded in separating the two sides, and then they demanded that the persons in charge from both families come out to talk in detail.

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(End of this chapter)