Cavalry Charge

"Form up! Infantry defensive formation!!!"

Though these Dreadfort soldiers were not particularly vigilant, their basic qualities as soldiers of the North were quite high.

Hearing Dick's hoarse shout, they immediately rolled over and stood up. Within a minute or two, they had drawn their blades and raised their shields, forming a defensive line.

Dick, his voice now somewhat hoarse, had also donned his chainmail with the help of his trusted men.

He was the only one among these soldiers who possessed chainmail.

Caught in a sudden cavalry ambush, Dick and his men chose to form a defensive line on the spot—not because they lacked horses.

Rather, because the charging cavalry's mounts had already reached full speed over this distance. In such a state, for Dick and his men to recklessly countercharge would only lead to certain defeat.

"Archers, fire at will! The rest of you, hold the formation! The formation must not break!"

As the distance closed, Dick could now see that the number of charging cavalrymen barely exceeded their own.

With his wealth of combat experience, he knew that if they could withstand the first wave of the cavalry charge, there was hope of victory.

Hearing Dick's command, their two archers began to shoot, trying to take down the enemy.

But the charging cavalrymen all wore iron helms and chainmail. Unless struck in the neck, eyes, or other vulnerable spots, the arrows were largely ignored.

One cavalryman was unlucky enough to have an arrow strike his horse's head. Man and beast crashed to the ground in an instant, their fate unknown.

Clop! Clop! Clop!

Gulp!

The soldier called Yellow Tooth, standing in the defensive line, watched the cavalry bearing down on him and heard the thunderous hoofbeats. He swallowed nervously.

"Stab the horse's belly!"

Captain Dick's roar reached his ears. Yellow Tooth raised his shield with his left hand and, with his right, thrust his single-edged sword fiercely toward the horse's underbelly now right before him.

Rip!

The sharp blade pierced the soft flesh of the horse's belly in an instant. Under the force of inertia, the wound tore open at least thirty or forty centimeters, and a torrent of bright red blood sprayed out.

Neigh!

The horse let out a mournful cry and collapsed limply to the ground.

Yellow Tooth had achieved his goal, but the heavy impact of the horse against his shield left him dizzy and dazed, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

This unpleasant sensation lasted only a moment—because a longsword pierced through the back of his skull, emerging from his eye socket, dragging a blood-soaked eyeball with it.

Moments earlier, Yellow Tooth's view had been blocked by the massive horse, so he hadn't seen it.

The cavalryman atop that horse seemed to have anticipated his move. Before Yellow Tooth's sword could stab into the horse's belly, the rider expertly crouched on the saddle, then used the force of his feet pushing off the stirrups to leap forward through the air.

He cleared Yellow Tooth's defensive line, rolled twice on the ground to absorb the impact, then immediately rose and spun around, driving his sword into the back of Yellow Tooth's head.

Of course, not every cavalryman could pull off such a high-level maneuver.

Most, upon contact with the defensive soldiers, used the momentum of their charging horses to slash downward with added force. Unless facing a highly skilled veteran, cavalry held an overwhelming natural advantage over defensive infantry.

The moment the two sides clashed, three or four cavalrymen broke straight through the defensive line.

The cavalryman who had killed Yellow Tooth, being closest to Dick, was immediately marked by him.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Dick and the cavalryman exchanged three rapid, alternating slashes in quick succession.

The two longswords clashed violently, sparking a few flecks of light, but neither drew the other's blood.

Swordsmanship cannot be faked!

After those three exchanges, both knew the other was no ordinary soldier.

They abandoned the wide, heavy slashes meant to kill outright and instead grew more cautious, parrying and probing, searching for the other's opening to see who would prove the superior.

Rip!

During one block, as Dick barely managed to parry, the cavalryman slid his blade downward, cutting a bloody gash across Dick's calf—a spot his chainmail couldn't protect.

This won't do!

Dick realized that the cavalryman's swordsmanship was growing rapidly even as they fought.

His wealth of combat experience told him that if this stalemate continued, he would surely die by the other's blade.

A thought turned in his mind. Dick suddenly stepped forward, gripping his longsword with both hands, and brought it down in a mountain-crushing overhead strike.

He intended to use an explosive burst of full-body strength to overwhelm the enemy in one go.

Clang! Clang!...

The crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out repeatedly. The cavalryman, caught off guard by Dick's sudden aggression, was forced back step by step in some distress.

Though the cavalryman was in a sorry state, he still managed to withstand Dick's onslaught.

As he gradually adapted to the rhythm, the cavalryman swept his sword upward with a reverse grip, knocking aside Dick's now-weakening blade and leaving his chest wide open.

Seizing the opportunity, the cavalryman drove his bloodstained longsword, like a venomous snake, straight through Dick's throat, ending the battle.

Gck...

Dick, still coughing up blood, realized in his dying moments that he had been too focused on sword-fighting the cavalryman, failing to notice the other battles had already ended.

A dozen enemy cavalrymen had encircled the two of them; even if he could kill his opponent, escape was impossible.

Seeing this troublesome foe slowly lose his life, the cavalryman drew his longsword and flicked it toward the ground. The blood clinging to the blade splattered onto the earth, forming a crescent-shaped stain.

Dick's body lost its support and crashed to the ground with a thud.

Removing his helmet, Robb caught the cloying, metallic scent in the air.

This sweet, coppery smell came from the ferrous ions in large amounts of blood or visceral blood.

But copious blood or organ blood often meant death, so it could also be called the scent of death.

House Stark had always raised their sons with the Wolf nature. In the fused memories, the original Robb had long grown accustomed to corpses, blood, and ending lives with his own hands—he was familiar with this smell.

But the current Robb found it somewhat hard to stomach. Yet he knew this odor would accompany him from now on.

Robb looked down at his own hands, feeling the surging strength within his body. Recalling the longsword that had just ended an enemy's life, he couldn't help but sense a feeling of absolute control over all life—the power to grant or take it away.

Was this the feeling of wielding power and authority in this world?

Shaking his head, he forcibly suppressed the distracting thoughts. Robb lifted his gaze and swept his eyes across the battlefield littered with corpses and remains.

He announced loudly to the Winterfell cavalrymen watching him intently: "The murderers have all atoned in the Seven Hells! Return to Winterfell, and each man receives fifty Silver stags! The families of the fallen get triple that."

"Eternal loyalty to House Stark!"

"Lord Robb, long may he live!"

Robb's reward instantly ignited the enthusiasm of the Winterfell soldiers, who cheered in unison.

This reward was no small matter. A fine meal of lamb, duck, buttered peas, oat bread, and four cups of ale cost one Silver stag and still left change in Copper coins.

In the original story, Emperor Joffrey had offered a mere hundred Silver stags as a bounty, and people had recklessly attacked the formidable, skilled Hound.

"Robb, we killed sixteen enemies in total. Two of our men died on the spot, and one was too badly wounded—I gave him a quick end."

Theon approached Robb and reported the battle's achievements and losses in a low voice.

PS: Currency simplified to Gold dragons—Silver stags—Copper coins, exchange rate 1:210:11760.