Besieged on All Sides

"Charge!"

The commander of Winterfell's right flank infantry, seeing no reason to pass up such an opportunity to beat a fallen foe, immediately gave the order to attack.

As the right flank infantry formation received the command, the shieldbearers in the front rank raised their shields and turned sideways, making the entire formation look like a set of Venetian blinds being opened horizontally.

Behind them, ranks of Winterfell infantry, armed with small round shields and single-handed swords, rushed forward.

These infantrymen's eyes burned with fervor, their fighting spirit soaring. The cavalry struggling to rise just a few meters in front of them were like a pile of battle achievements delivered right to their doorstep.

"Calvary traps, a few chains took down over two hundred cavalrymen. I really do love Robb's underhanded tactics! Everything is proceeding according to his plan. Has he really grown this much? It's terrifying!"

Watching the right flank battlefield unfold without suspense, Theon felt a complex mix of admiration and fear towards Robb.

On the charging path of the left flank cavalry, Locke, who had rejoined a few cavalrymen who had fallen but luckily survived, saw the destruction of the right flank cavalry. Currently, only a handful of left flank cavalry remained. The heavy cavalry in the front still had more than half its strength, but they were being tenaciously held by the enemy's spearmen, who fought without fear of death, and couldn't break free.

There was still hope! Locke's gaze fell behind him, towards the three thousand infantry troops charging forward. As long as House Bolton's infantry could engage Winterfell's infantry, allowing the heavy cavalry to break free from their entanglement, their remaining strength would undoubtedly be House Bolton's trump card.

"Let's go link up with the infantry."

After analyzing the battlefield situation in his mind and making a decision, Locke immediately spoke to the surviving cavalrymen. Their horses had already become corpses on the ground, so they could only march towards the infantry formation.

Seeing House Bolton's infantry drawing closer, Locke's face broke into a knowing smile.

Thump-thump-thump!

The sound of hooves, familiar to Locke, the sound of a thousand horses riding together, reached his ears. His smile froze on his face. Because House Bolton couldn't possibly have this many cavalry. Even if Ramsay arrived in time, his few hundred cavalry couldn't produce such a formidable sound.

Behold, directly behind House Bolton's infantry formation, a cavalry force of at least two thousand, flying the banner of a direwolf, was charging towards them.

"Impossible!!! I sent scout cavalry to survey the area. How could so many cavalry appear behind us? Where were they hiding?"

Time shifts back a little...

"They never imagined we were hiding behind them the entire time!"

Standing behind a hill, Robb watched Locke's troops, who were no longer hiding their marching tracks and were advancing at full speed, and chuckled lightly to Count Rickard beside him.

"Lord Robb, your wisdom is truly like the Wall, awe-inspiring!"

A short time ago, Count Rickard had been greatly surprised to see Robb emerge from a lumber transport cart. Now, he was completely convinced by Robb's recent strategies and offered sincere flattery.

"Count Rickard, you are too kind. In truth, this is all Blood Wind's credit!"

Robb replied with a smile and continued, "House Bolton's scout cavalry's eyesight, speed, and endurance are far inferior to Blood Wind's. I had Blood Wind track them from a distance and relay their positions, allowing us to always hide in their blind spots. Therefore, their scout cavalry is useless against us. Of course, this method is something others cannot replicate."

"Lord Robb, you are too modest. House Bolton was within your plan from the very beginning of this war. You only needed a conspicuous target like me to draw his attention," Count Rickard said, having figured out quite a bit during this time. "I led the four thousand assembled militia infantry to draw the attention of Dreadfort. In reality, Winterfell's elite warriors had already departed and were hidden in the woods near Dreadfort. Then, using the supply transport carts, we continuously ferried soldiers into specially prepared tents to hide them. House Bolton's scout cavalry kept their eyes fixed ahead, completely unaware that you were right under their noses."

"Beneath the candlestick, where the candle's light cannot reach, is the darkest and easiest place to hide," Robb summarized with a smile, listening to Count Rickard's explanation.

"A simple yet profound truth!"

"Thank you for your praise, Count. Yesterday, that militiaman named Trog was quite good. I plan to transfer him to Winterfell later."

"Indeed, he is a relatively outstanding commander. Lord Robb, that... the signal has arrived!"

Actually, there was no need for Count Rickard to remind him; the conspicuous smoke signal was visible to almost everyone. Robb looked at the smoke signal with determination, drew the longsword from his saddle, pointed forward, and shouted, "Attack!"

Whoosh!

The warhorse beneath him had fully accelerated, and Robb could hear the wind whistling past his ears even through his helmet. Blood Wind, whose size was now comparable to a warhorse, galloped alongside him at lightning speed. For this large-scale army engagement, Robb had not brought Nymeria and Lady to the battlefield. Their combat effectiveness was insufficient, and they were still developing, making them prone to perishing due to unforeseen circumstances. Robb was currently positioned in the middle of the charging formation, composed of fourteen hundred Winterfell cavalry and six hundred Karstark cavalry.

This time, he didn't charge at the forefront himself.

At the very front were the lancers led by Little Jon, followed by the light cavalry he and Eddard led, and finally the Karstark cavalry led by Count Rickard, along with the Winterfell horse archers.

In Westeros, while individual bravery is certainly very important, sound and correct tactics and strategy are equally crucial.

This siege battle at Dreadfort was truly a whirlwind of change; when Locke's troops attacked, the allied forces were caught between two forces.

But when the Winterfell elite infantry appeared, they held them back and entangled them. By the time Robb's troops charged, Locke's forces in the middle were once again caught between two forces.

It was like layers upon layers of a sandwich. Hmm, Locke's troops, now the filling, certainly wouldn't like that description.

In the blink of an eye, the Winterfell cavalry were almost upon the running Locke infantry.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

As soon as they entered the range of the Winterfell horse archers, those at the very rear immediately drew their bows and fired.

The cavalry force appearing behind them clearly caught these infantrymen off guard, and panic began to spread.

And the sudden hail of arrows rapidly amplified this commotion.

Locke's infantry originally had shieldbearers in the front and regular infantry in the rear.

Even when normally arrayed, these thousands of troops couldn't swap the front shieldbearers with the rear infantry in a short time while maintaining their basic formation.

Let alone being attacked by the arrow volleys of the Winterfell horse archers; instantly, this group of infantry scattered like ants whose nest had been disturbed.

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