Chapter 93: The Battle of Harrentown

The main gate of Harrenhal.

Parked beside thirty-some mounted guards were seven or eight carriages and ox-carts.

Lady Whent glanced toward the west, "They still haven't come. The Western Lands Army cavalry hasn't reached Harrentown yet. Should we wait a while longer before we leave?"

The Steward, Richard, looked at his elderly mistress anxiously, "Please, just board the carriage and flee. The Lannister scouts have already appeared brazenly in front of Harrentown. If you don't flee now, I fear you won't be able to escape. The Western Lands Army cavalrymen aren't all nobles; I fear it won't end well if you fall into their hands."

"I still feel we can wait a bit. I don't know why, but that Bracken fellow seemed quite reliable." Lady Whent was tired of standing, so she plopped down onto the footstool for the carriage.

Richard was sweating profusely from anxiety, and the surrounding guards looked at their increasingly senile liege, shaking their heads with helpless, bitter smiles.

"I truly give up on you. It's already burning under your tail, yet you're still so leisurely."

Richard complained repeatedly, but he could never urge his liege to lift her backside and board the carriage.

Just then, a slight tremor came from the ground.

"Quickly, get in the carriage! Tywin's cavalry is here!" Richard was shocked. Without thinking about why the Western Lands vanguard cavalry had arrived so quickly, he reached directly under the old woman's armpits, intending to hoist her into the carriage.

Lady Whent sat for a moment to steady herself, regained her senses, glanced at the vibrating north, and set her anxious heart at ease.

"Richard, the cavalry coming is our Riverlands cavalry. That Arthur has brought men to save me."

Richard was slightly stunned. He turned toward the north and saw that it was indeed Riverlands cavalry: "Lord Edmure has sent men to save us. House Tully is a reliable relative indeed."

Minisa Tully, wife of the Lord of Riverrun, Duke Hoster, was from House Whent. Although Lady Whent and she were only sisters-in-law, in terms of kinship, the Tullys were considered the closest relatives to House Whent.

The Steward of Harrenhal squinted, recognizing the banners of the arriving army.

"The Purple Silver Eagle Flag, the brown-field black farmer flag, the black dragon with gold eyes quartered flag, the green dragon white tower quartered flag—the ones who have come are from the Mallister, Darry, Vance of Wayfarer's Rest, and Vance of Atranta families."

As he muttered to himself, he sighed:

"It seems Lord Edmure hasn't forgotten you, his aunt. In the end, relatives are what count; that Arthur is completely unreliable."

Lady Whent shook her head, not refuting her steward, though she insisted in her heart that it was Arthur, that young man, who had come.

The towering Harrenhal stood in the distance; even from far away, one could clearly see those five massive towers piercing the clouds.

Arthur, who was observing the surroundings while riding, felt a wave of frustration.

He had thought about changing his banner earlier, but he had always forgotten.

This rescue mission had brought this small oversight to light.

The cavalry of each house flew their own banners, earning much praise from the farmers they saw along the way.

He was the lead commander, yet he didn't even have a banner; this wouldn't do.

He couldn't put in all the hard work fighting the Western Lands Army only for these families to reap all the fame.

Fortunately, Harrentown should have small workshops like dye houses; getting a banner made for him wouldn't be a problem.

As for the design, he would slightly modify the original Bracken banner of a golden shield and red stallion.

The golden shield would become a Golden Guan Dao, and the red stallion would become a giant horse clad in golden armor.

These were precisely the two most famous features of Arthur at the moment.

After a period of riding, they finally arrived at the base of the massive Harrenhal.

From afar, Arthur saw that Lady Whent was already prepared to flee.

"Hey, I'm right on time." Leading the charge to the castle gate, Arthur shouted toward the Whent party.

Seeing that it was indeed the person she had expected, Lady Whent's face showed some joy: "You are quite punctual. You said you'd have us wait three weeks, and here you are on the twenty-second day."

Arthur shook his head helplessly, "It's because The Mountain is so good at running, isn't it? I chased him from here to the middle reaches of the Red Fork, which took three and a half days, and then another eight days of pursuit before I found him near Pinkmaiden and killed Clegane. Afterward, it took another five days to go to Golden Tooth, then all the way from Riverrun by boat—four days on water and a day and a half on land. I hurried and rushed just to get here to save you."

He jumped off his horse and walked to Lady Whent and Richard, "It seems I've arrived just in time. Where is Tywin's cavalry? How many are there?"

The accompanying Raymond Darry, Patrick, Marq Piper, the marksman Anguy, the Brave Companions leader Vargo, and the cavalrymen who had been running all day also dismounted, some drinking water, others urinating on the spot.

Of course, the horses were also fed fodder by the cavalrymen.

"The Western Lands vanguard cavalry is only a half-hour ride from Harrentown. Scouts have already appeared outside the town, which has made the tens of thousands of refugees there very uneasy. Right now, the road from here to Harrentown is blocked by fleeing refugees."

"As for the numbers, at least a thousand. Our information comes from the mayor's report; his militia only dared to take a look from afar."

Although surprised that it was Arthur leading the team, Richard still promptly provided the information he possessed.

As the steward of a great castle, his composure was quite good; he did not let his inner thoughts show on his face.

"You cavalrymen are the vanguard, right? How many men did Lord Edmure send? Eight thousand? Or ten thousand?" the Steward of Harrenhal asked.

"There are seven hundred and eighty-three of us right now," Arthur replied. "More than three thousand infantry will follow, but they weren't sent by Edmure. He wants to fight the Western Lands detachment at Riverrun first, then have a decisive battle with Tywin. These cavalry and the follow-up forces are all borrowed by me."

When they set out from Riverrun, there were eight hundred cavalry plus thirty men including Raymond, Marq, Patrick, Anguy, and Vargo. It was just that a few small boats capsized; although the soldiers swam to other boats, the packed armor sank into the Red Fork.

Even worse, quite a few of the horses on the large ships were seasick. They could barely stand on the boats, but once they reached land, they just lay down and wouldn't move.

So after landing, Arthur left the forty-seven soldiers who had lost their armor and whose horses were seasick to stay behind and look after the poor horses. The remaining seven hundred and eighty-two were brought here by him.

Asking for troops to rescue someone is a great favor. Arthur described the relationships clearly to Lady Whent, so that he wouldn't be the one putting in the effort while the credit went to the Tullys far away in Riverrun.

A flash of disappointment was evident in Richard's eyes, but he said nothing.

Lady Whent, however, let out a long sigh.

"I knew it. Edmure wouldn't send anyone. He probably doesn't even know where his aunt is. This relative isn't very reliable."

"Since you've come, I don't need to flee. Let's go into the castle to rest. I see the young men behind you are all exhausted."

Lady Whent greeted them.

Her servants were clever enough and were about to lead the guests' horses into the castle.

"Wait." Arthur stopped the servants' movements, "Tywin's cavalry isn't far, and there are farmers fleeing on the road. The Western Lands cavalry is coming in a hurry and will inevitably pillage to replenish their rations. I must go and save the farmers on the land."

He turned his head toward the soldiers of the various houses behind him, "You are tired, but Tywin's cavalry is even more tired. They have been running for five days straight; they are at the point of seeing stars. Mount up! While they haven't established their footing, we will give them a head-on blow."

Patrick, Marq, and other nobles of higher status also repeated Arthur's order, which made the soldiers who had just dismounted to rest put on their helmets again and vault onto their horses.

Arthur also jumped onto his giant horse and shouted at Richard: "Don't close the gates of Harrenhal. I want to let the civilians of Harrentown come in to take refuge."

Richard was stunned, "What are you saying? Isn't this letting the Western Lands soldiers in?"

He did not want to carry out this order; after all, Harrenhal was his master's ancestral castle, not Arthur's, and certainly not that of exiled commoners.

"Do as he says." Lady Whent stood up and walked before the reinforcements, "Young men, I wish you victory in your first battle."

"Victory in the first battle!" Arthur turned his horse, raised his Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Dadao, and shouted.

This not only responded to Lady Whent but also boosted the morale of the Riverlands Cavalry.

"Victory!"

The cavalrymen were also infected by the surging battle intent from Arthur; they let out a shout and followed the first fierce general of the Riverlands, who had charged out first, toward Harrentown.

Nearly eight hundred men traveled together to meet the invaders from the Westerlands, and the tall figure on the giant golden-armored horse at the very front gave many the courage to dispel their persistent fatigue.

The entire troop's will to fight climbed to its peak.

Not long after setting out, they already saw large groups of commoners, either driving ox carts or pushing carts themselves, dragging their families as they headed northeast.

"Go to Harrenhal, the gates there will always be open for you," Arthur shouted.

Some cavalrymen were sent out to carry out the task of calling out.

Some farmers heard Arthur's words and silently adjusted their direction of travel.

Others were different and continued to head northeast as before.

Some even warned, "My lords, you should hurry north too; Duke Tywin's army has thousands of men and they are all killing their way toward here."

"That's right, how can your few men be enough to fight Duke Tywin's people? It's better to save your own lives."

"There is a man named Arthur the Justice in the north; it is rumored that he killed The Mountain, and he will protect us well."

A group of fleeing farmers said to the passing cavalrymen.

They felt proud of the courage of this group of Riverlands Cavalry to meet the enemy, but they did not want them to die in vain like this.

"I am exactly the Arthur you speak of; some give me the title of Justice, and others call me the Brave," he said, pulling on his reins and shouting.

"If I were to abandon you today because of insufficient troops, then I would not be worthy of these two titles. Even if the enemy is many and we are few, I will still lead the army to attack until you have all safely entered Harrenhal."

"Now, everyone, enter Harrenhal to take refuge, and then watch us cut down the invaders from the Westerlands."

"Follow me!"

The last shout was for the Riverlands Cavalry behind him.

The speed of the entire troop increased abruptly as they charged toward the west.

After Arthur's call, most of the refugees chose to head toward Harrenhal; they were originally going to seek refuge with Arthur at Red Mill, and since the man himself was here, there was no need to head north to cross the Red Fork.

Outside Harrentown.

A Westerlands scout was reporting to Amory Lorch, who was leading the army.

Behind Lorch were 1,500 Westerlands cavalrymen wearing crimson cloaks and Black Ring Mail.

A quarter of a league in front of him, a large group of Riverlands Cavalry was already clearly visible.

"My lord, the incoming army is about eight hundred men, flying the banners of Seagard, Darry, and two houses of Vance; they should have been at Riverrun, but I do not know why they have appeared here."

A professional scout was much more competent than the militia of the Harrentown mayor; not only did he accurately provide the number of enemy troops, but he also figured out their origins.

"Is there anything unusual?"

Lorch, a Sworn Knight of Casterly Rock, asked.

The Mountain was dead, and he was basically the most capable Sworn Knight under Tywin, which was why it was his turn to take the opportunity to seize Harrenhal.

This was a great merit.

"The leading general is riding a giant golden-armored horse and holding a golden Jiu Jiu Jiu Jiu Dadao; he is suspected to be Arthur Bracken from the Battle of Golden Tooth," the scout replied with some hesitation.

He was not very sure that it was Arthur, but the features were truly too obvious.

In these ten days, the rumors about Arthur killing so many at Golden Tooth that 15,000 men dared not advance had spread throughout the entire Westerlands army.

After all, no one wanted to encounter such a fierce enemy.

"So what if it is him!" Lorch waved his hand, "A mere Arthur, I shall kill him with one hand."

Once Harrenhal was captured, the entire south of the Riverlands would be open for the Western Lands Army to gallop through.

This was a heaven-sent merit.

Lorch had already seen the rewards he deserved after the battle: a large castle, a territory befitting his status, and a wife from a great noble family.

Shaking his head, he shouted, "We have twice as many men as them, follow me."

The 1,500 cavalrymen slowly began to move, their speed gradually increasing until they were at full gallop.

In just a moment, the two armies were already very close, and after a few breaths, the slaughter would begin.

On Arthur's side, the nearly four hundred cavalrymen from Seagard were in the center, with two hundred cavalrymen from each of the two Vance houses on the flanks.

The entire troop, like a giant triangular arrowhead, fiercely inserted itself into the Westerlands cavalry.

But the person in front of Arthur was not the commander of this army.

Although the Personal Guard around Lorch were very curious why their officer, who was charging with his sword raised, was heading straight for the flank of the Riverlands Cavalry, they wisely did not voice any questions.

The two cavalry forces slammed into each other, and the melee began.

PS: Seeking recommendation tickets and monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)