Chapter 225

She didn't know whether the youths had already understood that she would not personally go to intercept Frey's army, could not guard the safety of their family's forts and manors, and furthermore, the well-being of the Starks west of the river would be entirely entrusted to Lord Frey, the castellan Chayle, and the forest clans willing to project their strength to her in this great war.

She acknowledged having many worries, and also acknowledged that she had never undergone such a trial.

She regretted not being able to fight alongside Robb in the South, regretted not detecting the danger before the Southern army's collapse and warning him, regretted not having devoted her full strength earlier to help Robb bear even a little more in the South, and even regretted not having handled the affairs of the North properly.

Only now did she truly feel the pressure that Robb had once borne.

Tens of thousands of soldiers loyal to the Starks west of the river placed their lives and fortunes in her hands; all the great and small houses had their honor, disgrace, rise and fall tied to her; a single mistaken decision could destroy all of that, and she could not possibly just walk away.

She could no longer be merely a rogue wandering the eastern continent, nor could she remain a brazen marauder who pillaged and retaliated whenever things did not go her way.

The sharpness of Bolton's blades is known throughout the North, and Frey's hatred for her is etched deep in the bone.

Unfortunately, she cannot, like the youths before her, simply write her worries on her face.

One day later, Mason Seaworth led fifteen hundred cavalry of the left wing to the foot of Plainspeak City and set up camp in the open ground beside the stream.

Mason Seaworth should have assisted his nephew in defending Seaworth City, while Cray Seaworth was to accompany her into battle, but Seaworth Earl was simply too young, and Mei Yi could not entrust nearly fifteen hundred cavalry to him; ultimately, the roles of Mason Seaworth and the Seaworth Earl were swapped. For this arrangement, the Seaworth Earl was greatly dissatisfied, unfortunately, no one considered him the second Young Wolf. In the end he could only be stationed at Seaworth City, to guard his own castle and face a possible attack from the South.

The next morning, Earl Glover led the right-wing cavalry to arrive, followed by three infantry battalions. Each battalion numbered about a thousand, respectively commanded by Huband, Viscount Moulton Forest, and Henry Nuote; aside from the Moulton Forest battalion, all the infantry were recruited from the Stark territories, and nearly all of the infantry's armor, spears, and shields were supplied by Winterfell.

Just these infantry alone incurred enormous expense; she had emptied Winterfell's armory and her own weapons stores.

Cray's heavy cavalry arrived only late in the evening, and Mei Yi stationed them beside the guard cavalry regiment. The armor of the armored horsemen was not hard to say, all coming from captured equipment. Captured gear ought to be distributed as spoils, but she still paid to ransom it and equipped a unit—perhaps the North's first heavy cavalry ever. The ransom cost should have been borne by Winterfell, but since Winterfell's burden had fallen on her shoulders, there was no difference.

The cost was huge, yet she was unsure whether it would serve its purpose. The heavy cavalry numbered just over three hundred, yet it had absorbed her strongest, most skilled, and most trustworthy men; moreover, nearly the finest horses in the North were taken by this three-hundred-strong unit.

"My lady, we control these several roads," Earl Glover pointed to the several passages from Plainspeak City to Hallwood City, "no matter what, as long as Bolton is not a fool, he will absolutely not besiege the city while confronting us; our forces are not much fewer than his."

Short by three thousand, or in other words, half missing.

Mei Yi nodded; when she herself appeared on the battlefield, it would naturally indicate that reinforcements had arrived. If they could quickly take Hallwood Castle, that would be fine, but since they had not taken it, they would have only two options: retreat or confront her.

"We can send cavalry to give chase," Huband the instructor slammed his iron-gloved fist onto the map, "I don't believe they can keep formation on the retreat. My lady, I believe that if we seize the opportunity to pursue, you will surely be able to fight another fine raid on their camp."

"No matter what, we must swiftly defeat the troops before us." Mei Yi gripped her sword, feeling surrounded by fervent gazes, as if with her present, any way they fought, this battle would surely be won. She thanked them for their trust, yet despised their superficiality that offered no useful information. "They have the numerical advantage, but their troop quality falls short of ours, and they have been besieging Hallwood Castle for a long time, so their morale and spirit are affected. Especially the Tyrell troops, they have no idea what to do here besides looting! You haven't put all your gold and silver on your persons, have you? That's too stupid!"

Mei Yi wanted to fight here, but she could not dispel her unease no matter what.

"Bolton failed to hold the route from White Harbor to Hallwood Castle, thus losing the chance to take Hallwood Castle," she tapped the simple war map table, "although we cannot fight as beautifully as in a raid on their camp," the terrain and harmony are on our side, "drawing up formations and engaging in a pitched battle is not a loss."

She still had confidence in the troops under her command.

No one opposed a pitched battle.

This is quite normal; every senior officer present knows that the Starks' supplies are insufficient to sustain them through a long winter, so they tacitly chose to end the war quickly.

"I only fear Bolton won't take the bait." Henry Nuote hehehe laughed, "Back in the South he was very clever, always able to let Bolton's soldiers avoid every bloody battle; damn it, our forest clans' troops don't have that luck—after each hard fight they end up slaughtered by the Freys, which is our just deserts— in order to drive a wedge between the Tyrells and Boltons, we had best first attack the Tyrell troops." He moved a gray stone representing Stark infantry toward a turquoise one, "Bolton might come to the rescue, but as long as we keep him tied down, he certainly won't risk losses to save them. Damn it, that's Bolton's nature; even if the Tyrells are dissatisfied, there's nothing to be done—who let them involve themselves in northern affairs for no reason?"

"Excellent!" Earl Glover laughed heartily, offering praise, "These roses dare come to the North to stir up trouble; we naturally must give them a proper lesson, otherwise they won't know the North's cruelty!" He picked up the cavalry token on the map and looked at Mei Yi, "My lady, the Tyrell soldiers have come from afar; how could they not understand this? How could they possibly willingly serve Bolton? When the time comes, as long as you lead the cavalry to charge at these roses, you will surely grind them to mud! Or like herding ducks, drive them before Bolton's troops; by then they will know whether Bolton is a good ally."

The Tyrell soldiers are a breakthrough for her, but whether a pitched battle can actually be fought, she is unsure. For now, the only thing to do is take it step by step, after all, the battle situation can change at any moment, and the North might also see heavy snow at any time.

It is already winter, and it has been a long time since the last snowfall.

Let's hope there is no snow.

The cavalry under her command outnumber the infantry; if heavy snow falls, she can only withdraw the army to White Harbor or return to Winterfell… six thousand people and an equal number of warhorses constitute a considerable burden for any place.

A heavy snow could halve her cavalry and then halve it again; to conserve food, with a heavy snowfall, in order to maintain combat effectiveness, most of the warhorses would likely be slaughtered.

She clenched her fists around her fervor, the smiling face on the sword hilt already beginning to mock her silently.

"At dawn tomorrow, the whole army will occupy the Deer Fields," the sword hilt icy cold, she felt the North growing cold, "seize the eastern valley first, then stand ready to attack the enemy camp at any moment. If he wishes to stand firm, let him do so."

If he wants a pitched battle, I am happy to oblige.