Just as everyone's expressions shifted and they found themselves in an impossible position, a young, excited voice broke the deadlock.
Patrick Morrison stepped forward, his face flushed red with excitement. "My lord!"
"Please entrust us with the most dangerous position in the vanguard! The warriors of House Morrison will never let you down!"
His heartfelt offer to fight was the last straw. It completely extinguished the other commanders' final sliver of hope. What kind of people were these? It seemed they would have to sacrifice some family wealth after all. Gritting their teeth, they could only bow and accept their orders.
At daybreak, a thin mist hung over the plains outside Deddings Castle beneath the gray sky.
At Suleiman's command, the allied army's lines began to advance slowly. The heavy tramp of boots and the scrape of armor echoed through the quiet dawn.
To bolster their courage, several loud-voiced knights of House Deddings galloped back and forth before the lines, shouting with all their might toward the Ironborn camp in the distance.
"Riverrun's reinforcements are on their way!"
"Four thousand troops! They're coming!"
"Even the Drowned God can't save your lives!"
"We'll bury you in the earth!"
Their shouts carried across the open plains and reached the Ironborn camp clearly. Inside, Roderick Greyjoy shoved aside the Riverlands woman beside him, grabbed his axe, and charged out of his tent.
A longship captain of the Ironborn looked grave. "Four thousand reinforcements?"
"Is the information reliable?"
Roderick spat. "Reliable or not, we have to treat it as if it is."
"If those Tully bastards really show up, we won't even be enough to fill their teeth."
However, when they climbed onto a crude watchtower and saw the allied army advancing in the distance, most of their anxiety faded. The vassal forces assigned