The Conquest of the Westerlands-Inside Golden Tooth

At midnight, the moon hid its light behind clouds, as if it couldn't bear to witness the bloody battle that was about to unfold.

Catapults and arrows rained down like a summer downpour and a winter hailstorm, the dense barrage firmly suppressing the defenders on the city walls.

In the blink of an eye, the Westerlands army guarding the city walls found that there was almost no place to stand, with shattered stone projectiles scattered everywhere.

They could only huddle desperately in the corner, where they risked being struck by stray arrows if they weren't careful.

Arise! Resist! Arise!

The defending general roared as he saw the enemy below the city carrying battering rams as thick as pillars, approaching the city gate.

But their voices were completely drowned out by the shouts of battle and the bombardment from below the city.

Jon sits in the center, using his Golden Finger to observe the battle situation on each attack route.

At this time, even including the temporarily trained miners, there were only two thousand defenders in Golden Tooth, and only about a thousand of them were actually capable of fighting.

Compared to the besieging army, this was a twenty-fold difference, and Jon certainly wouldn't commit all his soldiers to the front lines; that would be too foolish.

Golden Tooth is surrounded by mountains on both sides. Although the mountains are steep, they are not impossible to climb. Although there are garrison troops on the mountain, the climbing route and the number of attackers are simply too overwhelming. They are not prepared to defend against an attack of more than 20,000 people.

Jon used Raven to plan more than sixty climbing routes for the army, and these attack routes were crowded with soldiers, looking from a distance like a series of constantly approaching nooses.

The front of the noose was manned by heavily armored soldiers who not only wore heavy armor but also carried thick shields, while archers provided cover behind them.

Every so often, soldiers would carry torches, and these climbing paths would converge as you went up, until they became fiery dragons that reached the summit.

"Daven actually transferred the troops away." Brynden, who was also in charge of command and offense, clearly felt that the defensive strength was lower than he had expected.

They initially thought Jon's order to launch a nighttime assault was just a sign of his impatience, but they never expected that their seemingly joking plan would actually work.

Brynden estimated that there were fewer than two hundred men blocking their way at the mountain fortress at this time. Based on this calculation, the entire garrison of Golden Tooth would not exceed two thousand.

It is almost impossible to defend such a huge fortress with only two thousand men; it is now riddled with holes.

"What other methods did he use?" Brynden couldn't help but recall what Jon had said that day, but he was still completely baffled.

He served Knight of the Bloody Gate in the Vale for over a decade, guarding the Vale's gateway— the Blood Gate —for the Vale and Arryn.

In Brynden's view, Golden Tooth was the second Blood Gate. Although it was not as dangerous as the Blood Gate, it was just as deadly.

So from the very beginning, he advised Jon to start attacking from the south, so that at least they wouldn't be trapped at Golden Tooth without any gains.

But now—looking at the flames burning all over the mountains, Brynden knew that under these Daven would not be able to defend Golden Tooth no matter what.

At that moment, a messenger with Riverlands accent approached Brynden and said, "Sir Brynden, Lord Jon has ordered that Golden Tooth be breached before dawn, and you must hasten the advance!"

"Knew."

Brynden drew his sword, pulled down his mask, and went to the front lines.

After Robb laid down his crown and chose to become king, Rickard approached him and spoke about Tywin. Rickard believed that he also bore some responsibility for Tywin's escape, so he entrusted the Karhold to his sons, Harrion and stayed behind to help Jon.

As for Brynden, Rickard told him to figure it out himself.

Brynden wasn't stupid either; after careful analysis, he realized the significance of Jon's coup and capture of King's Landing.

If the Tyrell and Lannister ultimately win, then these men will be trapped and die on the Riverlands.

If Robb wants to return to the North, the armies of Tyrell and Lannister will besiege him before he can breach the walls of the Twins the Twins.

By then, everything will be over.

So Brynden decided to use the rest of his life to help Jon. If he died on the way to conquer the Westerlands, it would be a small way of making up for the mistakes he had made.

Meanwhile, Jon continued to monitor the entire battlefield and noticed that Brynden's attack speed had suddenly increased, even to the point of being reckless.

However, he didn't care. The garrison in Golden Tooth was small, and no matter how tenacious they were, they couldn't inflict much damage.

Gavin fought fiercely, and considering Gavin's special status as Jeyne's father, Jon put Sandor in charge of protecting Gavin's safety.

Both were from the Westerlands and were very skilled in mountain warfare, so their progress was not slow.

Only Rickard seemed a bit slow, after all, he was the oldest and had to climb mountains and fight at the same time, which greatly depleted his physical strength.

However, his will was also the strongest. Jaime the Kingslayer killed his two sons, and although he eventually went to the Wall, Rickard just couldn't swallow his anger.

He decided that he wouldn't be done until he personally killed at least two Lannister.

As for Garlan and Loras, Jon did not put them in the front lines of battle.

Given Mace's doting nature, if something were to really happen to the two of them, the consequences would be unpredictable. If he also chooses to lead troops into battle, then the course of the war would be difficult for him to control.

Loras was frantic about not being able to participate in the battle; he was determined to be the first to climb onto the city walls.

"Jon, let me charge this time. Look at those soldiers on the city walls, they're being beaten so badly they can't even lift their heads."

"No, my plan worked. I'm still Commander-in-Chief. Your mission is complete." Jon said with a half-smile, looking at Loras, who was practically jumping up in anxiety.

"What kind of mission is it to lead soldiers around like this? I want to kill the enemy!" Loras retorted, his neck stiff. "I'm going to attack the city now, otherwise—" he said, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"What else?!" Loras had expected Jon to joke around like before, but to his surprise, the young man, two years his junior, suddenly changed his expression and said, "I am the Commander-in-Chief of the army, Ser Loras. Do not disobey my orders, or you will be court-martialed!"

Jon stood up and looked down at Loras, causing him to instinctively take two steps back.

Ghost, who had been lying down to the side, stood up and looked at him with her scarlet eyes. Although she didn't have two fangs, her intimidating presence was already evident.

In the end, Loras, still muttering something, turned and left.

"How is this possible!"

Upon reaching the tower, Daven looked down at the dense barrage of arrows and projectiles raining down on the city below, and felt a chill run down his spine. His hands, gripping the wall, unconsciously clenched into fists.

"My lord, look up at the mountain!" the attendant beside him suddenly said.

Daven turned around in the direction the servant was pointing, but before he could even see what was happening, the wound on his back ripped open, causing him to wince in pain.

Although Lefford's blow didn't cause him any fatal injury, a large patch of flesh was cut open, and he could feel the blood soaking through his shirt.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Daven quickly suppressed the pain and turned his head to look. He saw that the mountains in the distance had been lit up with torches, and the scattered torches kept converging towards the mountaintops. In fact, many mountain peaks had already been ignited and occupied by the light.

Daven knew that it wouldn't be long before those flames would spread from both sides to Golden Tooth, and judging from the number of fires, the attacking army was definitely no less than 20,000!

Daven knew perfectly well how many defenders were left in Golden Tooth, and he knew that these men alone could not withstand an attack of 20,000 men.

Golden Tooth was estimated not to hold out until the next morning, and Daven himself estimated he wouldn't see the sunrise either. The only thing that made him feel a little better was the order to mobilize troops from Casterly Rock.

It's unclear what method Jon used, but he suspects that both he and Tywin were deceived.

"Order the army to evacuate Golden Tooth immediately!" Daven made this decision in the end, after all, if Tywin hadn't been mobilizing troops, Golden Tooth wouldn't have fallen.

"Yes, sir."

Just as he was about to set off, a messenger claiming to be from Casterly Rock requested to see him.

After verifying the other party's identity and confirming that he had indeed come from Casterly Rock, Daven personally summoned him to speak.

"Daven, Lord Tywin sent me to ask you why you keep sending troops elsewhere. He clearly told you to stay put and hold Golden Tooth!"

"What did you say! Stand firm?!"

For a moment, Daven felt his brain was going haywire, as if someone had hit him on the back of the head when he wasn't paying attention, and he felt dizzy.

"Explain yourself! Tywin clearly told me to send troops to support the southern battlefield!" Daven questioned, somewhat aggrieved, but the attacking army did not give him time.

"My lord, the city gates have been breached!"

"What!"

Daven reached a high vantage point and saw an army clad in heavy silver armor breaching the city gates, moving like an unstoppable torrent, with an endless stream of troops behind them.

Upon seeing the banner that blended almost seamlessly into the darkness, with only the white wolf's head leaping and howling, Daven suddenly felt his legs go weak. He didn't know if it was because he had exerted himself too much in Lady Lefford's room or because he was overwhelmed by the situation of being confronted by enemies in front and questioned from behind.

But he still made his own choice.

"Follow me and drive the enemy out!" Daven roared, drawing his sword, and led his army of less than a hundred men to meet the enemy.

Although he said he wanted to drive the enemy out, Daven knew in his heart that he would most likely die in this charge.

Only death could give him an explanation for the fall of Golden Tooth.