Brienne waved the Swamp Marigold Banner high, and Crabb's bugle call immediately rang out, a deep, drawn-out wail. 💥👺 🎉👻
The Crabb Longbow planted their pointed wooden stakes diagonally in front of their lines, making the Crabb army appear to writhe from a distance.
Gryn Crabb personally won the initiative to sound the bugle.
The sound of the bugle signaled the start of the battle. The Crabb Longbow stood tall and proud, forming dense palisades in front of their lines. They had been training in this skill for a month and were very proficient at it.
In contrast, the Vale 'Vale army still needed to prepare for their charge. Although time was limited, it was precious for the Crabb Longbow.
Gryn rode slowly through the wheat field, but why had the ground become so soft after two days of heavy rain?
Lord Gryn simply used his nearly 2,000 strong oxen to plow all the wheat fields near Gulltown free of charge. This act earned him praise from all the farmers in Gulltown, who called him a generous and benevolent lord.
The wheat field sandwiched between the Crabb army and the Vale army was one of them, or rather... it was just one of the battlefields that Gryn had prepared in advance.
News of Gryn's fatal spear thrust at the Vale Knight spread throughout Crabb's army, instantly boosting the soldiers' morale.
The simple and honest soldiers of the Crackclaw Point have more faith in powerful the Warrior.
When Gryn returned to the ranks and his horse paced back and forth, the soldiers around him pounded their fists into their chests to show their respect and loyalty to their lord.
Lord Gryn walked past with a stern expression, his gentleness reserved for the Warrior who came to him on their own; the soldiers standing at a distance only needed to see the power and mystery of their lord.
All preparations had been completed, and Lord Gryn no longer needed to give repeated instructions; the rest was left to his the Warrior.
The bugle call of the Crabb sounded, its long, drawn-out sound like a cold wind from the north. Bronze Yohn glanced at the almost deformed Sir Harlan on the ground, spurred his horse, and galloped towards his own army.
Bronze Yohn had already noticed Gryn's "subtle actions," and this feeling of passivity not only made him wary but also fueled his anger.
The Earl Crackclaw Point has shown himself through his actions that today's battle is not a showy Tournament, but a fight to the death.
"Send two men to bring Sir Harlan back." These were the first words Bronze Yohn spoke upon returning to the ranks.
Bronze Yohn's calm words reignited the Vale Knights' fury, which then raged fiercely.
Previously, their anger stemmed primarily from the Wildling Earl's provocation; now, only the blood of their enemy could quell their raging fury.
"Gentlemen, let's not keep our opponents waiting impatiently."
Under the command of Bronze Yohn, the enraged 20,000-plus Vale cavalry quickened their preparations for battle.
More than 1,000 knights in full plate armor were gathering in a wedge formation. Most of them wore armor passed down through generations of their families. This was only a small part of the Vale Knights under the rule of families As High as Honor and House Arryn.
The armor of the Vale Knights gleamed in the morning light, and behind them were more than 500 knights-squires, also part of the vanguard, clad in breastplates and chainmail.
A loud bugle call rang out from the Vale, toot-toot, toot-toot, toot-toot-toot-toot-toot-toot-toot.
Immediately following the order of the vanguard commander, Sir Simon Templeton, more than 1,500 Vale cavalrymen slowly marched forward.
The bugle call rang out again from the Vale: toot-toot, toot-toot, toot-toot, toot-toot-toot-toot-toot-toot-toot.
When Sir Simon Temperton's Vale cavalry were about 500 yards from Crabb's lines, Earl Benedar Belmore's 3,000-plus Vale cavalry also began to leave the Vale lines.
"Damn it!" Sir Simon Templeton cursed.
After the cavalry set off, he discovered during their advance that the closer they got to the enemy, the softer the ground became, making it more difficult for their horses to move and maintain a tight formation... This was not only due to the Vale Knights' lack of training, but also related to the terrain conditions of the battlefield.
Earl Benedar Belmore, following behind, was forced to advance through the muddy ground trampled by the vanguard cavalry led by Sir Simon Temperton.
A distance of 250 to 300 yards is roughly the effective range of the Crabb Longbow, but Amparo, did not give the order to fire.
When they were about 200 yards away, Amparo gave the order to draw the bows. Under the command of the Crabb commanders of 1,000, Tricenturion, Centurion, Trierarch, and Decurion, more than 5,000 Crabb Longbow slowly drew their bows to their full extent.
At approximately 180 yards... Sir Simon Templeton's horse swept past an arrow stuck in the ground, its fletching conspicuous—one of the many pre-firing arrows fired by the Crabb archers.
"Release the arrows!"
"Release the arrows!"
"Release the arrows!"
"Release the arrows!"
The Vale Knights discovered that large "dark clouds" had suddenly risen from Crabb's army.
Immediately afterwards, a rapid and fierce rain of arrows descended from the sky.
Clang clang clang clang clang clang... Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle... The frightened warhorses neighed and struggled wildly, out of control, and the Vale knights were thrown to the ground.
A vast cloud of arrows rose again from Crabb's ranks, and after reaching a height of about 30 yards, they fell at an even steeper angle into the ravaged Vale of cavalry.
Because the ground was so soft, most of the wooden stakes had sunk and were therefore very sturdy... Some terrified warhorses struggled to charge forward, but often ended up pinned to the stakes.
As if blessed by the Gods, Ser Simon Templeton's tall and strong warhorse allowed him to escape Crabb's rain of arrows... but unfortunately, his warhorse crashed into a wooden post, and he was thrown straight off the saddle, landing headfirst in front of "little" Lena.
Before Ser Simon Templeton could regain consciousness, Lena's Crabb dagger pierced a gap in his armor, taking his life.
The startled warhorses scattered and ran into Earl Benedar Belmore's relatively well-organized cavalry formation.
"Stay calm! Stay calm!" Lord Belmore roared.
The wounded and frightened horses charged wildly through Sir Temperton's ranks, creating chaos like waves among the 3,000 cavalrymen.
They were now more than 100 yards away from the vanguard cavalry, whose men and horses had already fallen... and more than 300 yards away from Crabb's archers... The battle was going badly, but the proud Vale Knights would never back down in front of the Wildling!
Immediately, Earl Benedar Belmore gave the order to dismount and proceed.
The more than 2,000 plate-armored knights in the procession threw away their lances and dismounted at Earl Benedar Belmore's command, with nearly a thousand squires following closely behind them.
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish... The Vale Knights, now transformed into heavily armored infantry, endured wave after wave of Crabb's arrows as they trudged through the muddy ground.
Clang clang clang clang clang clang... The Vale Knights, clad in full plate armor, had to lower their heads and advance slowly to prevent the dense swarm of arrows from passing through the gaps in their visors.
As fewer and fewer frightened horses suddenly crashed into the ground like stones thrown by a catapult, the formation of the heavy infantry in the Vale became increasingly dense.
Many of the vanguard cavalry, who were fully plate-armored, also became part of the Vale heavy infantry, while the squires, who only wore breastplates and chainmail, were almost entirely wiped out.
During the march, people slipped and fell from time to time, and the increasingly dense heavy infantry formation had no time to attend to the brothers who had fallen to the ground.
Benedar Belmore, Earl heavily, roared, "Heroic knights of the Vale, forward! Forward! Keep going!"
There were still about 100 yards left... a distance that would normally be covered in the blink of an eye, but now it was incredibly difficult.
The armor, combined with the mud stuck to it, felt incredibly heavy, and more and more Vale knights collapsed to the ground from exhaustion.
As they neared the pointed stake, Earl Benedar Belmore roared, " The Wildling are in sight! Forward! Forward..."
To raise his voice, he instinctively tilted his head back, but... through the gap in his visor, he saw a tall woman in black leather armor, holding a bow and arrow toward him.
Time suddenly slowed down. He not only saw the arrow hurtling towards him, but he also noticed that the woman had beautiful brown hair that shimmered in the sunlight.
*Thud! Amparo Thorns ' arrow pierced through the gap in Earl Benedar Belmore's visor, sending his obese body crashing into the mud.
Earl of Strong Song, Commander of the Vale's Heavy Infantry, Benedar Belmore, is dead!
Just as they were about to get close to the fence in front of the Crabb archers, the more than 1,000 Vale "heavy infantry" collapsed almost instantly.
The Seven Hells... Bronze Yohn closed his eyes in agony.
The gentle voice of Redfort Earl, Horton Redfort (a member of the Declaration of Lords Declarant ), rang out. "Lord Yorn, they are ready and can go into battle at any time."
He paused for a moment, then added, "Perhaps... you could let me handle this attack; we can't do without you here."
Bronze Yohn shook his head slightly. He took the helmet from the attendant, put it on, and said in a deep voice, " Lord Crabb is a cunning fox, and I will hunt him down myself."
Earl Horton Redford gestured to the three young men beside him and said, "Lord Jon, please allow my three sons to fight alongside you. Victory belongs to the Valley."
Bronze Yorn glanced at Earl Redford's three robust sons, nodded slightly, and said, "Victory belongs to the Valley."
In addition to Clayton, the second son of the Earl of Redford, Jon, the third son, and Michel, the second son of the Bronze Earl, Robert, and the third son, Weimar, also joined the attack.
The bugle call sounded in the Vale.
More than 6,000 heavily armored Vale knights, dismounted, advanced in dense formation under the banner of Bronze Yohn.
Bronze Yohn shouted, "Long live the Vale of Arryn!"
The knights responded in unison, "Long live the Vale of Arryn!"
Long live Earl Royce!
Long live Runestone!
Long live Ironoaks!
Long live the Redfort!
"Long live Strong Song!"
Long live Nine Stars!
The Bronze Yohn is surrounded by the descendants of knights from the Vale of Arryn, who have been passed down through generations for thousands of years. They can be said to be the finest and most precious knights of the Vale.
The Vale Knights' two attacks were both severely thwarted, making him a villain in the Vale of Arryn.
But... the Vale Knights must not lose to the Wildling of Crackclaw Point!
If the Knights of the Vale lose to the Wildling of Crackclaw Point in this duel known to all Seven Kingdoms, it will be a disgrace for them forever!
The proud Knights of the Vale must not lose; Bronze Yohn's gaze was unwavering... even if it means death, he would win this battle!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh... Clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang clang... It was as if the previous scene was being repeated. The infantrymen of the Vale Knights braved Crabb's rain of arrows and moved slowly through the mud with unparalleled courage.
When Bronze Yohn personally experienced the " Seven Hells " here, a deep sense of despair welled up in his heart.
Clang clang clang clang clang clang... Bronze Yohn, advancing with his knight's shield aloft, was filled with regret. Why hadn't he ordered every Vale Knight to prepare a shield beforehand?!
They only collected a mere few hundred knight shields... Sure enough, underestimating the enemy is the shortcut to falling into the arms of the Stranger.
Clang clang clang clang clang clang... Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle... Crabb's dense rain of arrows constantly pierced the helmet's vents and observation ports, and one after another, the Vale knights, struggling to advance, fell.
Everywhere were "mud men" lying in the mud, groaning in pain; they were survivors left behind by Sir Simon Temperton and Earl Benedar Belmore.
Bronze Yohn coldly proclaimed, " Vale Knights! Forward!"
Only by defeating the Crackclaw Point men ahead as soon as possible can we rescue them from here. The Gods be upon us!
Or surrender to the Crackclaw Point men... Bronze Yohn instantly banished the absurd thought that had been surfacing in his mind... If he had to surrender to the Wildling, the glorious Vale Knights would rather die fighting!
When the two sides were within 100 yards, the Crabb Longbow stopped volleying and started firing straight at each other.
Whoosh who ...
Their formation was too dense, and after a large number of people fell, those behind them were tripped up, causing a sudden increase in casualties among the Vale Knights.
By the time the Vale Knight finally reached the fence made of wooden stakes, he had exhausted all his strength.
The wooden stakes that had sunk into the soil were exceptionally sturdy, and behind them stood the soldiers of the Crackclaw Point, who had laid down their longbows and replaced them with various long weapons.
With utter despair, Bronze Yohn roared, "Jump over! Attack! Attack! Attack! Attack!"
Happy New Year in advance! Hoo hoo hoo... Dear friends... See you next year!