Lymond. Lychester stood at one end of the stone bridge. Underfoot was a deep ravine dug overnight. The entire position was like a tightened semicircular bottleneck, tightly surrounding any enemy who tried to cross the bridge.
He looked at the simple but deadly defense line he had deployed. Behind the ravine, sharpened wooden stakes formed a dense thorn pile, leaving only a narrow passage in the center that could only accommodate a few people walking side by side.
The semicircular defense lines on both sides of the passage are newly piled sandbags and low earth walls. Suleiman's crossbowmen are crouching behind them and mounting their crossbow racks on them.
Suleiman's soldiers in chainmail were placed at the entrance and on the front line according to Suleiman's wishes. They were the cornerstone of resisting the first wave of impact and the first flesh and blood to be strangled by Ironborn. Thousands of mobilized farmers with low morale were placed behind them and on both sides, responsible for rotation and cheering.
On the distant horizon, the marching footsteps and flags of the Ironborn army raised dust, and Lymond. Lychester felt a complex emotion in his heart.
The young man's judgment was terrifyingly accurate, and his words were still ringing in his ears. Ironborn had a tyrannical character and looked down upon the Riverlands people. They would never leave or take a detour, and would definitely eliminate us in our rush to cross the bridge. Let my soldiers be at the front. When the farmers see them from behind, their fear will be replaced by courage.
The excitement of Gold Dragon will make them push forward desperately. When they find that they cannot bear the cruelty of war, their companions who are bravely moving forward will leave them with no way to retreat.
Lymond. Lychester took a deep breath. He now fully understood the cruelty and purpose of this deployment. Using the sacrifice of the Suleiman soldiers to ignite the blood of the mob, even if these mobilized farmers had weak combat effectiveness and just stood at the front and let Ironborn attack, it would consume a lot of the enemy's time and energy.
The anvil was ready, Lymond. Lychester pulled out the long sword, the blade reflecting cold light in the morning light.
He and these more than 6,000 people were the anvil that bore the beating.
You have to hold on until the hammer falls.
Geode. Goodbrother immediately looked at the Riverlands people's position from a distance and sneered with disdain. In his eyes, those simple ravines and wooden piles just proved that the Riverlands people were weak and believed that they could not fight with Ironborn. They could only rely on the fortifications to fight, which was nothing but a futile struggle of farmers in despair.
He firmly believed that the fighting will and courage of the Riverlands people were extremely weak. Just like all the previous battles, no Riverlands people had ever dared to fight with them in the wild.
What's more, he also has the perfect trump card of Roderick. The longship of the Son of the Sea Monster will soon appear on the enemy's side and rear.
By then, everything will be over.
Geode. Goodbrother gave his own evaluation of the leaders around him. "A group of people standing in the water, trying to grab a few straws."
He no longer hesitated, pulled out the long sword from his waist, pointed at the bridge, and issued an order to the two thousand Warrior at the front.
"Rush over!"
"Cut all their heads off!"
"Woo!"
The long horn sound sounded, and the Ironborns let out a thunderous war cry, rushing onto the stone bridge like a flood.
What greeted them were waves of roaring crossbow bolts. The Ironborns held up simple round shields, leaned forward, and ran wildly among the crossbow bolts.
People kept falling down after being hit by arrows, and their bodies rolled and fell into the river, stirring up turbid water. The people behind them stepped over the bodies of their companions without hesitation and continued to move forward.
Soon, the two groups of people collided fiercely at the narrow passage at the other end of the bridge. Spears and battle axes clashed, shields squeezed against each other, making a dull loud noise.
The Suleiman soldiers in the front row formed a steel human wall, motionless. Their spears continuously thrust out from the gaps in their shields, accurately poking at Ironborn's body. Each stab caused a wound.
Geode. Goodbrother was watching the battle from behind, and the smile on his face gradually solidified. He was shocked to find that the fighting will of the opponent's front-line soldiers was far higher than he imagined. Facing the fierce Ironborn, those Riverlands people refused to give in and fought back heroically.
He muttered to himself, "What's going on?"
On the side, Sawane. Botley, who had been silent, spoke quietly, with a hint of schadenfreude in his tone. "Goodbrother leader, do you see clearly?"
He pointed with his chin at the brave soldiers in front of the opponent's formation.
"The soldiers at the front were carrying the red Black Lion flag...
... It's that Black Lion."
Ge Ode. Goodbrother snorted coldly and looked a little ugly. Of course he saw it, but he just didn't want to admit it. That Black Lion was indeed quite capable. There was indeed a reason why Sawane. Botley capsized.
He turned around again and ordered, "A thousand more people!"
"Press up! Don't give them a chance to breathe!"
More Ironborns swarmed onto the stone bridge, and the battle completely turned into a bloody meat grinder. The passage was too narrow, and both sides could not use their strength advantages. They could only invest their troops row by row, and engage in the most primitive fight.
People were crowded together, corpses were piled on top of corpses, and the soldiers didn't even have room to wield their weapons. They could only pull out their daggers and stab the enemies in front of them with all their strength.
Many people did not die from swords, but died from suffocation in the squeeze of the crowd. Even due to the density, they could not fall down for a long time and were still squeezed while standing. Those who were injured and fell to the ground would be immediately trampled into a blur of flesh by the crowd coming up from behind.
The blood dyed the stone bridge red and formed streams, dripping into Trident, dyeing the green river water crimson.
The farmers in the rear became more courageous when they saw the bravery of the soldiers in front. They could not see clearly the tragedy at the front. They only saw their own people fighting to the death and being crowded. They could not see anything else. In addition, with the temptation of two Gold Dragons swirling in their minds, they began to squeeze forward desperately.
This force came from the rear, leaving the soldiers and mobilized farmers who crowded to the front with no way to retreat and had no choice but to fight to the death.
On the hillside in the distance, Suleiman calmly observed all this.
Behind him, nearly 300 cavalrymen and 500 armed farmers were in full swing, eagerly awaiting orders.
Rosso was so excited that he stepped forward and said, "Sir Suleiman, isn't it our turn!"
Suleiman just shook his head. "It's not yet time."
He watched the Ironborns bravely launch a squeezing charge forward again and again, only to be pushed back again and again. The battle line stabilized, the flesh was crushed and consumed, and he chanted softly in his mouth.
"One burst of momentum will lead to failure, and three times it will be exhausted."
He is waiting, waiting for this endless war of attrition, using time and human lives to wear away Ironborn's vigor and physical strength.
Time passed little by little, and the battle situation was still stalemate, and Geode. Goodbrother began to become restless.
He has invested nearly 4,000 men and suffered heavy casualties, but he only fought the opponent in a pure front-line squeeze. The personal bravery and fighting ability that Ironborn is proud of cannot be brought into play on such a crowded battlefield.
So what if we win? Even if we suffer the same battle loss ratio as Riverlands, it would be equivalent to Ironborn's disastrous defeat.
He kept turning back and looking towards the side and rear of the Riverlands army, roaring in his heart.
"Roderick! Roderick Why hasn't it come yet!"
"That damn guy! Where did he go?"
Geode. Goodbrother looked at the Ironborn Warrior who were gradually showing signs of fatigue on the bridge. They were no longer squeezing forward as they had been at the beginning. They were loosely trying to squeeze out the air to breathe and rest, and their teeth were clenching.
He couldn't wait any longer. "Everyone! Press on!"
The last hope was all pinned on Roderick. Greyjoy. He roared angrily and commanded the remaining one thousand Ironborn to press forward.
Suleiman knew that the time had come. The fighting momentum of Ironborn on the bridge was obviously weakened. The second line of Ironborn Warrior no longer squeezed forward desperately, but tried to occupy the loose space to breathe and rest. The third line of charging troops also hesitated in their steps.
He slowly pulled out the Nightfall from his waist. Valyrian Steel Sword flashed with a deadly light in the sun, as if it could swallow all light.
Point the sword forward.
Geode. Goodbrother looked anxiously at the flanks of the Riverlands people on the other side of the river, expecting the Roderick. Greyjoy soldiers to appear. A loud and long horn blast shook the sky, but it rang out from a direction he had completely unexpected.
"Woo!!!"
Behind?!!!
Damn it!! That sound came from right behind him!!!
Ge Ode. Goodbrother turned his head sharply, his pupils shrinking to the extreme in an instant.
He saw a scene he would never forget.
On the plain behind them, a huge army was rushing towards them.
At the front were three hundred Riverlands knights wearing heavy armor and holding lances. They formed a tight wedge-shaped charge formation and galloped over.
At the front of the wedge-shaped cavalry formation, a young knight held a head high with a lance.
That head had an angry look, it was the son of Balon. Greyjoy, Roderick. Greyjoy.
Behind the knights were nearly five hundred armed farmers wearing Ironborn armor and holding various weapons.
They followed behind the Lord Knight, their courage doubled, their legs flew forward, and they roared like wild beasts.