Chapter 99: Night Raid

"You all seem to be chatting quite happily; have I missed something, you old woman?" Lady Whent appeared from outside the door.

At her sides were Hendry and Jeyne Bracken, the eldest daughter of Lord Janos.

Since arriving at Harrenhal, Jeyne and her younger sisters had spent every day with Lady Whent.

One old woman and five young girls, they were getting along quite well.

Hendry also frequently ran to Lady Whent's room; he had been striving to maintain good relations with the high-ranking lords of the Riverlands, and he employed the same strategy toward the already declining House Whent.

As soon as the three of them entered, the arguing crowd immediately fell silent.

A dozen gazes turned toward Hendry and Jeyne.

"What's wrong?" Hendry was not stupid; after sensing something was amiss, he spoke up to ask.

After a few breaths of silence in the hall, the Red Priest Thoros of Myr explained to him the actions of Lord Bracken.

Hendry's mediocre features suddenly became vivid; surprise, bewilderment, fear, and guilt were all mixed together, making it very difficult to guess what he was thinking at the moment.

Finally, he blurted out: "I was just about to fight the Western Lands Army to the death? Why did my uncle surrender first?"

The nephew was about to fight to the death, why did the uncle surrender first?

And he didn't even take me with him when he surrendered?

Seeing the awkward scene, Lady Whent laughed to smooth things over: "Actually, Lord Janos's behavior is understandable."

Raymond also chimed in: "That's right, ever since Edmure was severely wounded and handed over command of the Riverlands Army in Riverrun to Lord Tytos of Raventree Hall, and Stone Hedge was besieged, Lord Janos was merely trying to preserve himself."

After the battle outside Riverrun, Edmure was severely wounded and unable to preside over the big picture, so he handed command to Lord Tytos on the north bank.

There were two reasons for this arrangement: Raventree Hall was on the north bank of the Red Fork and had not yet been harassed, so Tytos could wholeheartedly fight the Western Lands Army at Riverrun; and after Janos lent troops to Arthur, House Blackwood became the strongest among the Riverlands lords at Riverrun.

But the four lords on the south bank had no intention of staying in Riverrun and were anxious to rush back to their own territories to rescue them; this left Janos in a very awkward position.

If he took his thousand men back, Stone Hedge was being besieged; if he stayed in Riverrun, the southern lords he was on good terms with had left, and the remaining Tully soldiers and Raventree Hall soldiers were all under the command of his mortal enemy, Tytos.

After weighing the pros and cons, this Lord Bracken unleashed his family's signature skill: seizing prisoners of war and switching sides.

And these were no ordinary prisoners; the Kingslayer was, after all, the eldest son of Lord Tywin.

For the sake of a dwarf son, Tyrion Lannister, whom the head of the Lion House did not favor, Lord Tywin could go to war with the entire Riverlands; thus, the value of the Kingslayer, who was deeply loved by Tywin, was truly sky-high.

Moreover, Janos was the first high-ranking lord in the Riverlands to surrender, and to show his sincerity in surrendering, Lord Tywin's offer would not be low.

A thousand gold pieces to buy a horse's bones, after all.

After the two helped ease the tension, Hendry swore that he was not like his uncle, and that he would definitely stand with the Riverlanders and fight the Western Lands Army to the death.

No one present questioned him, but it is doubtful many believed those words.

There were other matters to discuss, and Hendry and his cousin were not given a hard time.

"I propose sending Raymond of Darry to Maidenpool to fetch reinforcements," said Marq Piper.

This was the first time he had offered such a wise suggestion.

Maidenpool, located on Crab Bay, was the seat of House Mooton, and the current lord was Lord William Mooton.

During the time Lord Tywin was stationing troops at Hornvale, House Mooton had not responded to the call of their liege lord, House Tully, on the grounds that the journey was too far.

In the entire vicinity of Harrenhal, this was the only great house that could still field over two thousand troops.

The Raymond family and the Mooton family had been neighbors for many years; sending him should make it possible to borrow quite a few troops.

Arthur nodded, "This is also a path."

Due to the defeat at Riverrun and Kevan leading his army north, his plans had been greatly disrupted.

Originally, he had thought about holding Harrenhal to the death with the few troops he had and the newly formed army, then waiting for reinforcements from The North to arrive.

According to the original plot, as long as Harrenhal could be held for about a month, the seventeen thousand infantry from The North and House Frey, led by Lord Roose Bolton, would arrive.

But this plan was clearly no longer suitable for the current situation.

In the original work, Jaime truly did not understand military affairs, which is why he besieged Riverrun from three sides, only to be captured later in the ambush at the Whispering Wood.

That was the only reason the Western detachment had no commander during the subsequent battle of the camp raid, and were defeated in detail by the Northern cavalry, who were far fewer in number than the Westerners.

But Kevan did not have his nephew's recklessness; he was a qualified second son who had received complete military training, and his existence was to serve as Lord Tywin's military assistant.

Since Riverrun could not be taken in a short time, and the Northern troops had already reached Moat Cailin, it was only logical for Kevan to lead his army north to meet them and, incidentally, pull the fence-sitting House Frey into his own camp.

It was just that this way, the Northern troops would first have to deal with Kevan's Western Lands Army, and the time for them to head south would be greatly delayed.

This left Arthur and the others in a precarious situation.

If Lord Tywin was determined to take the castle by throwing lives at it, then no matter how tall Harrenhal was, all the troops in the city combined would not be enough to sustain the defense.

The soldiers from the various Riverlands families totaled about thirteen hundred, and the New Army numbered twenty-one hundred, for a total of thirty-four hundred, which was far from enough compared to Tywin's fourteen thousand.

Even the Lion House's most famous heavy cavalry legion far outnumbered the men Arthur had in his hands.

Therefore, finding reliable outside help had become the most urgent matter.

It was just that the strength of House Mooton was also a bit lacking.

Raymond said: "This is also feasible, but even if the entire strength of the Mooton family comes to reinforce us, it doesn't necessarily..."

He did not say it explicitly, but the meaning was very clear.

Having eaten his fill, Thoros wiped his greasy mouth, turned his head, and said to the gathered Riverlands lords:

"Besides strengthening yourselves, you could also think about weakening your opponent."

Weakening the opponent...

Arthur suddenly recalled a common tactic from the Three Kingdoms of his past life:

A night raid on the camp.

"We can raid their camp in the middle of the night. If planned well, we could kill Tywin in one stroke. As long as Tywin dies, the Western Lands will certainly fight Renly in the south to defend Joffrey's throne," he said to the crowd.

At the moment, Lord Eddard was still locked in the dungeons of the Red Keep in King's Landing, Robb had not yet declared himself king, and the conflict between the Western Lands and the Fish-Wolf Alliance had not yet escalated to the point of mutual destruction.

At most, Edmure had been wounded and Tyrion Lannister had been captured; as long as both were alive, the three parties could still sit down and talk.

"The main force of the Western Lands Army outside the city has very tight defenses; we don't have many opportunities," said Marq.

He had always been straightforward and reckless; if he said there was no chance, then the path was truly impassable.

The nobles of the Riverlands fell into deep thought.

Could it be that they were just going to sit here and wait for death?

As the local host, Lady Whent suddenly recalled something, "Perhaps you all..."

The words reached her lips, but she stopped herself from speaking.

"What is it? Please say it, my Lady." Patrick, having his interest piqued, urged her.

"Tywin's main army is near Harrentown. There is indeed a shortcut from the castle to there, but this move is too risky and might cost you your lives," the old woman said in a heavy tone.

"As long as we can get close to their camp quietly, then it is they who will lose their lives," Arthur said with unusual certainty.

He still had confidence in his own abilities.

If Tywin were killed, perhaps there would be no more war in the entire Riverlands, and the commoners would not have to live such bitter lives.

"For the sake of the millions of commoners in the entire Riverlands, this risk is worth taking," he added.

Lady Whent's expression was grave, "Then I shall speak. One can quietly reach the docks of Harrentown from the Gods Eye; Tywin's main army has not yet reached the point of guarding the lake surface itself."

Raymond and the others nodded, approving of this plan.

The group chimed in one after another to add details.

"We can row small boats to the Harrentown docks in the middle of the night."

"We will just disguise ourselves as Western Lands Army cavalry; we have plenty of their armor and weapons."

During the battle of Harrentown against Amory Lorch, they had captured seven or eight hundred sets of Western Lands Army light cavalry equipment, which would come in handy right now.

"Take a few dozen top-tier experts and strike directly at Tywin's quarters."

"Exactly, hack Tywin into eight pieces and let them know the consequences of invading our Riverlands!"

After a round of discussion, the plan to ambush and kill Tywin was finally confirmed.

According to the scouts captured entering the city, Harrentown was garrisoned entirely by infantry and light cavalry, while Duke Tywin, his officer corps, and over four thousand heavy cavalry were staying outside the town.

Therefore, Arthur and his men needed to disguise themselves as Western Lands Army light cavalry, enter the enemy camp from the Harrentown docks, sneak into the tent area outside the town in the middle of the night, find the largest tent, and charge in to start the fight.

Of course, they would not kill Tywin the moment they caught him; they would have to hold the Warden of the West hostage to allow the raiding party to get out of the enemy camp.

After finalizing many more details, Arthur began to select the raiding party.

By the old rule, the members of the Brave Companions came first; Vargo and twenty-two mercenaries from the Brave Companions were chosen.

To boost the morale of these men, Arthur ordered Hayley on the spot to take out one thousand Gold Dragons and distribute them among these men.

Vargo, who had been called over, had no objections and stuttered his thanks.

As long as there was gold to be had, he could do anything.

"That's too little," Lady Whent, sitting in the corner, had a different opinion.

"The danger of this trip is extreme; one thousand Gold Dragons doesn't even amount to one hundred per person. If word gets out, it will make us Riverlanders look stingy."

She said to the Steward Richard, "Go get thirteen hundred Gold Dragons and make up the difference for these warriors."

Arthur did not object; it wasn't his money anyway.

Lady Whent had no heirs and sat on the largest earldom in both Harrenhal and the Riverlands, so she was always generous with her spending.

"My, my Lady, thank you."

Vargo's eyes widened; he hurriedly rushed to the side of the old woman in the corner, grabbed her right hand, and began to kiss it fiercely.

Arthur ignored the two of them and continued picking people.

The marksman Anguy was also called over; his archery skills might come in handy.

The rest were Riverlanders: Ma Ke and his seven top-tier experts, six cavalry officers from Seagard, eight infantrymen from Darry, and fourteen elite infantrymen from the main house of Bracken.

Including Arthur, there were sixty people in total.

Raymond, Hendry, and Patrick also wanted to go, but the former had to go fetch reinforcements, and the latter two had average combat prowess, so they were all rejected by Arthur.

Thoros of Myr and Beric Dondarrion were also rejected by Arthur; they were not Riverlanders and had no need to take such a great risk.

Everything was ready, just waiting for the middle of the night to start the fight.

In the middle of the night, the moon was dark and the wind was high—the perfect time for killing and arson.

The raiding party, wearing Lannister light cavalry armor, sat in six small boats and quietly set off from near Harrenhal, rowing toward the town's docks.

The starlight was brilliant, reflecting off the lake in shimmering waves.

The whole world seemed to be reduced to the sound of the group's oars.

"For the sake of millions of living souls, we are going into the camp of ten thousand men to ambush the enemy commander; it will make for a fine tale," Arthur said.

At his feet lay the Golden Guan Dao, though it was wrapped in thick cloth and bundled together with several lances.

Ma Ke, who was in the same boat as him, smacked his lips, "It would be even better if there were a jug of ale."

Arthur also wanted to drink some low-alcohol ale, but there were truly no conditions for it right now.

Carrying this slight regret, he rowed hard.

Before long, the group rowed to the front of the docks.

From afar, they could see four or five Western Lands Army soldiers guarding the docks, but they were all sitting on the ground, leaning back-to-back, with their heads tilted in sleep.

"Excellent," Arthur said softly.

To reduce noise, he reached out to have the five boats behind him stop, letting only his own boat approach slowly.

After going ashore, Arthur and the nine people in this boat killed the five night-watch Western Lands Army soldiers.

The five boats behind also quickly pulled up, and the raiding party gathered.

To avoid being so conspicuous, the Golden Guan Dao, which was bundled with the lances, was carried by a member of the Brave Companions.

After roughly forming two lines, they set off toward Harrentown.

Not long after setting out, they ran into a five-man night patrol.

The Lion House captain leading the group was quite sharp; seeing so many men dressed as Cavalry coming from the docks, he immediately grew suspicious.

For one, there were not many Light Cavalry stationed in town, and for another, it was always infantry on night patrol; the Cavalry were all treasures of Lord Tywin.

"Halt, Lannister," he shouted, wanting to use the password to confirm the other party's identity.

Arthur, leading the group, naturally did not know how to respond and froze for a few seconds.

Fortunately, someone in the group reacted quickly.

Anguy fired two rounds of five arrows, and every member of this night patrol fell to the ground on the spot.

Among the camp-raiders behind, there were naturally some sharp ones who ran up to move the bodies and drag them into a corner.

"What do we do? We don't know the password," Ma Ke said, somewhat anxiously.

Arthur thought for a moment, "No rush. At least we know the first half is 'Lannister'. If we run into anyone, we'll just ask the first half; we'll surely find out the second half."

He waved his hand, and the camp-raiding group continued to advance toward the tent area outside the town.

On the way, they naturally encountered another night patrol.

This time, Arthur asked first: "Halt, Lannister."

"Always pays his debts," the small squad leader replied reflexively.

Arthur nodded and waved his hand: "Good, continue your patrol."

Then he led his men to continue forward.

The squad leader who had been hailed was somewhat bewildered; shouldn't he have been the one to ask first?

But these Cavalry had already walked past, and the squad leader thought it better to avoid trouble, so he just acted as if nothing had happened and continued his patrol.

Having obtained the password, Arthur was full of confidence and led his men with heads held high toward the tent area outside the town.

The correct password allowed them to pass through unimpeded, and they entered the makeshift campsite outside the town.

The largest tent in the tent area had already come into Arthur's view.

But they encountered another ten-man patrol of Lion House soldiers.

The Light Cavalry attire of Arthur and his men also drew attention.

The leading Lion House soldier asked: "Password, Joffrey I."

"Always pays his debts," Arthur said.

Only this time, his confidence was not very high.

The leading Lion House soldier grew highly suspicious: "Whose men are you? Report your names immediately."

Arthur glanced at the largest tent, about fifty or sixty paces away.

Even if they dealt with this group, there would still be time to run over.

He made a gesture behind his back with his left hand and rested his right hand on the hilt of his Greatsword, Dawn Sword. He replied:

"Sir Amory Lorch, our commander is..."

Halfway through his sentence, Arthur drew his sword and slashed at this group.

The men behind also received Arthur's signal; those with bows shot, and those with blades slashed.

"Enemy attack—" but they still let this group of patrolling Lion House soldiers sound the alarm.

The ten men were quickly cut down.

The surrounding tents did not have much of a response, but some Lion House soldiers in key positions reacted much faster.

From many corners, some fully-equipped Lion House soldiers rushed out.

Arthur swung his Greatsword and shouted: "Protect Lord Tywin."

Then he charged toward the largest tent.

The camp-raiders behind him also shouted "Protect Lord Tywin" and followed Arthur in a massive charge.

PS: Seeking recommendation votes and monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)