The other mercenary companies came to their senses as well, raised their weapons, and charged toward Malaquo's headquarters. Even with the citizen armies of New Ghis and Volantis there, they had no other choice. Retreat meant death.
The battlefield became a confluence of blazing warfare as all the forces collided. When all that strength converged on a single point, the fighting erupted.
"Kill!" Gendry swung the Spiked Mace in his broad, powerful hand. Brutal force concentrated on a single point, crushing flesh and shattering skulls. Ser Barristan followed close behind him, feeling somewhat jolted himself. The young man fought too wildly, reminding him of Robert at the Trident.
"Long live Storm!" The cavalry of the Stormlands, the Vale, and Crackclaw Point charged like proud stags, trampling the last of Volantis's dignity straight into the mud. Twelve-foot lances swept through the air, taking soldiers' lives. Battle-axes and morningstars brought even more terrible deaths, sending heads, brains, and blood flying. Led by the Windblown, the remaining mercenary companies turned against their former side as well.
The golden river swept everything away. Malaquo gathered his last soldiers into one enormous mass: the reserves of Volantis and New Ghis, and the fighters of Yunkai and Meereen. But these men were worn down and destroyed in the golden tide. The Red God's will protected Gendry, not them, and the Volantenes had little fighting spirit left.
At last, Gendry faced that final old man, Malaquo. Malaquo had also suffered a sword wound, left by a fleeing Lysene slave swordsman, and blood had stained his sleeve red. That man, of course, had been killed as well, falling beside Malaquo's guards.
"I lost," Malaquo said. He was very old and had lost his teeth, but he was still a renowned Tiger.
Malaquo wore a beautiful suit of golden