The Glory of the Seven Gods of Ice and Fire

Chapter 157: Failure in the End (8k)

Petyr disliked the battlefield, which he had determined very early on. When he was knocked to the ground by Brandon Stark, he was already sure that he would not be able to achieve any achievements on the battlefield.

Therefore, he gave up his study of martial arts and began to learn the art of writing. Relying on his ability in clerical work and a little bit of pillow talk, the little finger became a big man comparable to the commanders.

Sitting in this position, it is inevitable to go to the battlefield in person, so no matter how unwilling Little Finger is, he can only put on armor and go to the battlefield.

However, there was another important reason that drove Littlefinger to this battlefield. He saw an opportunity, an opportunity for him to truly gain a foothold in Myr and even become a hero of the entire Westeros.

The Myr crossbowmen fired a wave of crossbow arrows, and the horsemen fell one after another under the crossbow arrows. Even if they were wearing long clothes, they were still like a piece of paper in front of the crossbow arrows. Then the crossbowmen finished reloading at a very fast speed and fired another round of crossbow arrows at the nearest horsemen.

Relying on the Myrish crossbowmen's more efficient shooting and super penetrating power, the army that Littlefinger cobbled together has now become the core of the battlefield. The crossbowmen will defeat their ranks with ruthless rain of arrows before the centaurs come roaring.

Whenever he saw the performance of these crossbowmen, Petyr would feel fortunate that the money he spent was well spent, and all the costs he paid for it now turned into rich rewards.

It is precisely because of the existence of this powerful crossbowman that even Eddard Stark and Tywin Lannister have to follow his baton to a large extent and advance with his crossbowmen as the center.

Under normal circumstances, there was no way these two great nobles would obey his orders. Stark would look at him with those disgusting eyes, and Lannister would be as arrogant as ever.

As for the nobles under the two dukes, those who usually asked Petyr to do things for them now turned around and did things for Petyr. These beasts, birds, insects and snakes that were arrogant in front of him in the past now clung to him as if he were their only lifeline.

The advance of the flags of the lion and the wolf naturally attracted countless eyes. The defeated soldiers subconsciously gathered here, and the soldiers who still had the strength to fight also hurried over. As the team moved forward, the chaos was gradually eliminated.

In the safe area they opened up, the nobles and soldiers who had been running around like headless flies regrouped here, either defending their positions or joining the battlefield to contribute their own strength to victory.

This made Petyr feel an irrepressible satisfaction and a sense of pride that everything was under control. Was this the power to change the fate of countless people? He, the son of a wealthy knight on the Five Fingers Peninsula, a poor man who could only inherit a lonely tower in the future, was now in such a position.

He couldn't help but think of the Valley Knight, Hugo Tollet, who had the same background and experience as himself. He now understood the knight's mentality.

However, deep down, Petyr also understood that Hugo Tollet's path was not suitable for him, and he did not have the ability to be a pioneer like Hugo. However, there was no problem for him to ride the tide of the times, and it was even safer.

Now, Petyr was commanding his army along the road that King Robert had taken, because he had received news from the Ragged Prince that King Robert was currently surrounded by countless centaurs.

Yes, Petyr wants to rescue King Robert from his enemies and become a war hero who changes the course of the entire battle - it is also because of this goal that he is able to command the troops of the lion and the wolf.

After Petyr's army crushed a path, the centaurs' leaders, no matter how slow they were, realized Petyr's purpose. They immediately gathered their forces and charged towards the Westeros people at a desperate pace.

The Myr crossbowmen fired rounds of arrows as usual. Even though these centaurs were wearing heavy armor under their long coats, they fell one after another under the crossbow arrows. However, they did not collapse, nor were they all wiped out. Instead, they successfully crossed the line of fire.

As the centaurs got closer, the crossbowmen began to panic. These Myr people had rarely experienced such intense battles, and had never really faced such a brave enemy - after all, they had infantry to protect them before. However, at this time, Littlefinger stood up and encouraged the crossbowmen to hold the front line. It was his appearance that stabilized everyone.

However, although Littlefinger looked very brave, he was actually very panicked inside. He was unwilling to stand in this position, but if the crossbowman collapsed here, wouldn't his efforts be like a joke?

At this moment when the crossbowmen were about to be crushed by the aggressive centaurs, a team of infantry quickly formed a battle line in front of the panicked crossbowmen and set up a shield wall, while lions were roaring above their heads.

The galloping war horses ruthlessly crashed into the shield wall. Relying on the impact force of the war horses, a hole was broken in the shield wall, but the Lannisters rushed forward one after another to block the hole. Although they suffered heavy casualties, the attack of the centaurs was curbed.

As the centaurs were blocked, their fate entered a countdown. The lion and wolf teams immediately took action and surrounded and killed the centaurs there.

Seeing the centaur being dealt with, Little Finger breathed a sigh of relief without leaving a trace. Just now he really thought he was going to die. If the lion's team had not appeared in time, he might have run away with weak legs.

Now thinking back, Little Finger could feel his heart beating violently, as if it was about to jump out. However, there was not much time for him to calm down on the battlefield, so after he calmed down, Little Finger hurriedly continued to emphasize his order, "Keep moving forward!"

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Great Kao rode his horse on a high hill, and countless bells in his braids rang slightly with his movements. Warriors from all over the Great Grass Sea were wearing long robes and riding their horses behind him. The direction of the battle made the Great Kao of the Great Grass Sea frown.

Although everything went smoothly at first, the battle did not go as he planned - but this was normal - the sheer size of the Westeros people devoured his troops.

During the battle at the Great Grass Sea, Balboa realized one thing: the bigger the army, the better. A small but efficient team can often exert far stronger combat effectiveness than a large and bloated army.

Balboa also applied this principle this time. The ones who besieged the Western monarchs were his khals who were still full of muscles, while the ones who disrupted the Westeros army were his capable forces wearing long robes.

At the beginning, things went smoothly. The Westerners who advanced rashly and lost the protection of their cavalry fell apart under his plan. However, the people of Westeros were too large. Even though they caused a large-scale collapse of the Westerners, there were still many Western troops holding their front lines.

Balbo saw all these armies, and he understood that these armies might be the key to destroying his plan, so he sent many troops to attack these stubborn enemies. However, these people then proved why they were so stubborn, and the centaurs he sent out basically returned in defeat.

Balboa was also helpless about this. Although the breakthrough of his elite troops was a great success, it also made his resources very limited. He had to drive out the enemy, maintain the enemy's collapse, monitor and defeat the stubborn troops who were still resisting, not to mention that after the battle began, the troops sent to the front line were actually uncommandable, and his resources were getting less and less.

So, when he saw the army with the bionic bird flag advancing under the cover of lions and wolves, and attracting all the Westeros people around like a magnet, Balboa made a decision.

In front of everyone, he unbuttoned the coat that made him feel suffocated, revealing the chain mail underneath, and then put on a simple but sturdy helmet. "Take off your clothes, everyone. Victory or defeat depends on our next action!"

Following the order of the Great Khal, the people of Dorask took off their coats one after another, revealing their armor. These people were all absolutely loyal to Balboa, so loyal that they could even abandon the customs of the centaurs and wear the armor that they despised.

All along, Balbo has been working hard to promote the civilization of the centaur tribe, but even so, he dared not reveal the fact that he was wearing armor in front of the centaurs. Others might not know, but he knew the nature of his people very well. If he did that, his reputation would suffer a devastating blow, and those conservatives who were suppressed by him would make trouble again.

But it doesn't matter now. As long as the monarch of Westeros is killed, the negative impact of him wearing armor will not be a problem at all. He can even use this opportunity to show his people the benefits of wearing armor.

Kaa's followers put leather vests on the war horses, and the other warriors did the same. These servants were very skilled in their movements, and it was obvious that this was not the first time they had done this.

After the servants finished their work, Balboa raised his hand and pointed at the king who was shooting arrows left and right among the countless centaurs and killing them everywhere. Then he kicked the horse under him in the belly with his legs, and the horse immediately galloped.

The Dothraki warriors also followed closely behind the great Khaa, one after another. In this way, a heavy cavalry appeared in the Dothraki camp. This was something that had never happened before for the centaurs.

When these armored cavalry appeared on the battlefield, the first to be attacked were not the Westeros people, but the centaurs. When the Dothraki saw so many armored cavalrymen appear, they subconsciously thought that they were enemies and were about to rush up and kill them, but the next moment they realized that these people all had the symbol of the Great Khaa, and the style of their armor looked so "big grass sea", which made many centaurs unable to understand.

However, when the Great Chao's horn, which meant "all-out attack," sounded, the centaurs immediately gave up their doubts and continued to charge towards the knights of Westeros.

The battlefield where the khals besieged Robert was extremely chaotic and bloody. In some places, the knights who had lost their horses formed a battle formation, facing the siege from all directions. In some places, the corpses of men and horses were piled up into hills, and both sides dismounted and fought on the hills. In some places, the cavalry chased and shot at each other, raising clouds of dust.

Although the Westeros people could easily slaughter the centaurs with their advantage in armor, that was just the beginning. As the battle lasted longer, the weight of the armor became more and more of a burden, consuming the knights' physical strength. Once the knights were careless, they would be knocked down and dragged away by the centaurs, and then the various gaps in their armor would be targeted by the Dothraki.

With King Robert as the center, the knights of Westeros struggled to maintain a circular battle line. Although they killed several times more centaurs than they lost, the centaurs still fought forward. If this continued, the future of the Western Knights would be destruction - but now there were still several hours before that moment came.

As this group of heavy cavalry centaurs appeared in front of the Westeros people, even the Westeros people were stunned. They never expected to see such a team of centaurs. In their impression, centaurs should be shirtless instead of wearing armor.

After realizing that the centaurs were wearing armor, many Westeros knights felt angry.

In the eyes of the people of Westeros, centaurs have never been humans, but some kind of beasts. Now that the beasts are wearing human armor, isn't that just a monkey in a crown?

So, some knights rode forward in anger, but then they paid the price for their arrogance. They subconsciously thought that these armored horsemen were still as weak as the unarmored horsemen they easily slaughtered, but this was not the case.

Most of Balb's direct descendants used armor-piercing hammers instead of the traditional Dothraki scimitars - that thing has almost become a symbol of the Dothraki people - they used the armor-piercing hammers flexibly to break open the iron cans of Westeros that once left countless centaurs helpless.

The centaurs nearby saw this scene, which gave them a great shock and changed their views on armor - after all, the most staunch anti-armor factions had long since died under King Robert and his hammer, and were not alive until now. The Dothraki who had survived to this day had more or less opened their minds.

After successfully strangling a group of knights who could not be defeated despite sieges from many tribes, the centaurs who had been fighting hard for a long time no longer paid attention to the problem of armor penetration. The blind actions of these Western knights caused a gap in the originally tight defense line of the Westeros people. The centaurs rushed in and tried their best to use this gap to open the battle line.

The invasion of the centaurs was like a flood after a dam burst, pouring into the Westeros front with an unstoppable momentum. Under the cover of countless naked centaurs, Khal Baalbo's team was able to enter the core of the enemy.

Here, most of the knights were forced to retreat due to injuries. They were in a makeshift camp. Faced with the sudden centaurs, the knights who were still able to move took up weapons to fight the enemy. Although they could still kill enemies that outnumbered them several times with their armor, injuries were still injuries after all, and they were easier to kill than those intact knights.

The chaos here immediately attracted the attention of King Robert, who was fighting among the centaurs. After experiencing such a high-intensity battle, Robert was still full of energy.

If it weren't for the layers of blood on his body, you wouldn't be able to tell that he had been through such a bloody battle, and you wouldn't be able to tell that he had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

"What the hell is going on over there?"

The king's voice was still full of energy, with his usual boldness and impatience. This voice made the knights, who had been slightly breached in the battle line, quiet down and look at their monarch.

But this made the king even more angry. He wanted an answer, not these gazes as if he was looking at a savior! However, before the king got angry, a voice gave an answer, "It seems that the king of the centaurs has arrived! These guys are wearing armor, and they killed the people of Stormland!"

"The King of the Centaurs? Wearing armor?" Robert's anger and dissatisfaction were immediately attracted by these elements and then transformed into strong interest.

"Okay, follow me, let's meet the king of the centaurs, oh, he should be called Great Kao, I really want to see the quality of these armored centaurs."

As Robert spoke, he dismounted from his horse, threw away his long sword, and picked up the new sword that the servant had hurriedly presented to him. The servants also hurried to replace and perform simple maintenance on the king's armor. At the same time, the Kingsguard also brought a new horse - although Robert was as energetic as a monster, his weapons, armor and horse could not do the job.

The king stepped into the stirrups and shouted to the people around him, and the knights all responded to their monarch with their voices opened. Seeing this, King Robert also laughed in response, and then led the knights to rush in the direction of the great khal.

Robert's actions were immediately noticed by Balboa, because with Robert's actions, the invasion of the centaurs was blocked like a flood encountering a dam, and Balboa rode his horse towards the location of the stag flag without hesitation, where there was the person whose head he wanted to take, and that person also wanted to take his head.

Both of them wanted to take off the other's head, so they took the initiative to reveal their identities, raised flags, and asked their followers to shout their respective names.

So, the two kings, who both wanted to take off each other's head, came close to each other like two magnets attracting each other.

Soon, Balboa and Robert saw each other. They didn't say much because everything was self-evident.

The Westeros people and centaurs around them took the initiative to make way for them, a path for fighting, and the two riders also galloped along, each with only each other in their eyes, both wanting to take off the other's head.

But at this moment, something unexpected happened to many people. Suddenly, an arrow hit King Robert's horse. The kinetic energy of the arrow was so great that it directly pierced through the horse armor of the King of Westeros.

Moreover, the arrow's tip was a shovel head, a type of arrow designed by centaurs to penetrate armor and cut limbs, which immediately caused great trauma to the warhorse.

If it was just one arrow, it wouldn't be a big deal, as large animals like horses are very strong. But then, several more arrows hit the warhorse and pierced through its armor. The warhorse, which was hit so hard, could no longer bear the weight of the king, and fell to its knees, throwing the king off.

At this moment, Robert showed his rich experience in engaging in various high-risk activities. He skillfully rolled up to absorb the force - he had experienced similar things during the crazy car race in King's Landing - and stood up at the moment the impact force was consumed, but at this moment, Robert's horse also roared and knocked the king to the ground, and the horse galloped over the king.

This scene brought the mood of the surrounding Westeros people to the bottom, while the Dothraki were extremely excited. However, what happened next reversed the situation, because King Robert stood up again.

The monarch on the Iron Throne shook his body as if nothing had happened, then he pointed his war hammer at Balbourne who turned his horse's head. His heart was filled with anger, because he could see what tricks the centaur in front of him had played, but his mind was extremely calm, because he knew that the more times like this, the more he had to stay calm.

Balboa looked at Robert, feeling extremely surprised. How could this operation not kill this Westerosi man? Could it be that he really had the blessing of the so-called Seven Gods? As soon as this thought came into Balboa's mind, he was forced to suppress it. If this was the case, then he had to wonder why the gods of the centaurs did not bless them.

Balboa shook off his inner thoughts and prepared to attack Robert again, this time he must take the life of this Westeros man.

But at this moment, he heard a noise, which made Big Kao hesitate for a moment. It was also during this moment of hesitation that a series of crossbow arrows fell from the sky, one of which pierced Balbo's neck.

And just like that, the Great Kaa of the Great Grass Sea died.

The surroundings fell into deathly silence, and no one expected things to turn out this way - but the silence did not last long, because the Myr people came with lions and wolves.

When the reinforcements from the West arrived, the centaurs did not show much will to fight. They saw that their great khal, who pierced armor and used disgusting tricks, failed to kill the "Khal" of Westeros. They were already psychologically inferior to him. The sudden death of the great khal later made them believe that the battle was lost. Therefore, the fearless centaurs became afraid and ran away without looking back.

Naturally, the centaurs who lost the Great Khair were completely routed. As bravely as they had fought just now, they were now as embarrassed as they were when they fled. The people of Westeros won a great victory with a tortuous process but a bright ending.

However, the king was not happy. On the battlefield filled with corpses and blood, he stood in front of the body of the great Kaa, emitting a strong anger. The aura was so strong that no one dared to approach the king.

Seeing this scene, Myr's Lord Governor Petyr Baelish, who had come excitedly to seek credit, looked bitter. He had no choice but to retreat silently...

As for the Centaurs, the news of the Great Kha's death spread among them like a plague.

These guys who were not afraid of death in battle began to flee on a large scale, and soon, this unprecedented army on the Great Grass Sea collapsed.

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After the complete collapse of the centaur army, the Targaryen prince was naturally caught up in the chaos, and his conspicuous armor, which was designed to lure the usurper, soon led him to be besieged.

In order to protect him, the knight from Darry died at the hands of the enemy, and the guards of Braavos also abandoned him as a puppet. Just as Viserys recited the seven gods his ancestors believed in and began to pray for afterlife, a team of the Golden Company rushed out.

These black dragon loyalists dispersed the besiegers, and their leader knelt humbly before Viserys. This man was Jon Connington, who had returned to the Golden Company in disguise before the war, intending to gather the remaining red dragon supporters there - who were also the secret agents he had instructed to lurk - so as to instigate the Golden Company at the critical moment.

However, the development of the situation was beyond expectations. Clinton had no choice but to change his strategy and bring in the Red Dragon Faction of the Golden Group to protect their King.

With Connington's protection, Viserys was able to successfully leave the Shura-like battlefield. After being away from that bloody place, the Targaryen monarch and his ministers were finally able to rest for some time.

Due to being too tired, many people fell asleep as soon as they lay down, including His Majesty the King. Even though he was at the peak of his energy and physical condition, he was exhausted to the extreme after experiencing such an exciting day.

Clinton silently stayed beside the sleeping king. He stayed in the Golden Company to fight for the power of Targaryen, but now it seems that this is a completely impossible thing. So, what he should do is to bring those who are still loyal to the red dragon to their king.

"Jon, I just had two dreams." Viserys said suddenly after waking up.

"Your Majesty, what kind of dreams are they?" Ser Clinton reacted quickly, his tone serious because he remembered some of the innate skills that Targaryens would have - dragon dreams, prophetic dreams.

"In the first dream, I dreamed that the wrong spring was no longer wrong, my brother and sister-in-law were still in love, the usurper married the she-wolf, there was no war that year, and the Targaryen dragon flag still flew on the walls of King's Landing; later, my sister and I both grew up successfully, I married the daughter of a great noble, and she also found a husband of her dreams... Later, my father passed away with madness, and my eldest brother was crowned and succeeded to the throne under the auspices of the bishop. My sister, I, and everyone in the Targaryen family were present at the ceremony, including my mother..."

At this point, Viserys couldn't help but get stuck. He paused for a moment, then continued to narrate his dream.

"...Mom, she has been dead for so many years. I thought her face would become irreversibly blurred, but I didn't expect it to be so clear in this dream, as if she were still alive... Clinton, can you imagine this feeling? The elder you respect, the loved one you can't forget... She died on Dragonstone Island, and the usurper buried her in my family's cemetery. I remember that, and I know where I am. I miss her so much, but I just can't go to see her!"

The young exiled monarch could no longer conceal his sorrow. He couldn't help sobbing, venting the repression that he had never shown to his family.

Looking at his lord, Ser Jon Clinton couldn't help feeling a little sad, but he did not forget his duties and still stood guard beside the king resolutely.

"The second dream was of a manor." The young man suppressed his emotions. "In this dream, the usurper was satisfied with just a crown. He began to enjoy himself and became a hands-off boss. There were still nine free cities, and we were able to truly hide our identities and settle down. Ser Darry found a good teacher for Dany, and you taught me how to be the master of the house. We both learned very well. The manor was profitable, and there were no centaurs to harass us. We could live there for a lifetime... Later, Dany and I got married, just like our Targaryen ancestors. You were present at the ceremony, and we lived a peaceful and happy life with many children and grandchildren as you wished. Our family thrived in a new land... What a beautiful dream."

"His Majesty."

Sir Griffin said. He was a little disappointed in his heart, but he controlled this emotion very well and didn't show it at all. "If this good dream can make you happier, that would be great. I am honored to have such trust from you, and I will indeed continue to protect you and your sister as in this dream."

"Moreover, Your Majesty, you do not need to be so discouraged. The armies of the northern states are still strong. The tenacious Norvos infantry and the disciplined heavy cavalry of Qohor are still forces that the usurper cannot underestimate. The Braavos navy is enough to stop any western fleet that attempts to cross the Narrow Sea. The usurper was not killed in today's battle only because he is favored by the Seven Gods. Moreover, it is not only the northerners who support us. The southern states of Volantis and Ghis also support us..."

"Sir Clinton, you don't have to rack your brains to comfort me."

The young king begged him to stop talking, he was in a very low mood - although Clinton hid his emotions very well, he had been wandering in various city-states for so many years and had noticed the knight's emotions by reading everyone's expressions - the knight had no choice but to stop talking. Clinton could hear the king's worry and confusion in his words.

"Before the war, we had imagined victory, which was perfectly normal: the Free Cities had sent out their mighty soldiers, the Centaurs had brought the largest cavalry in the world, and even the distant Eastern Cities had contributed far more financial and human resources than in the last war, while the conqueror had increasingly fallen into extravagance and debauchery. Then, the Centaurs swept across the land of the New Seven Kingdoms, the eldest daughter pinned down the precious elite troops in the East, and the northerners took the opportunity to march south in full force, eliminating the usurper's strongholds one by one... But after losing this decisive battle, the previous victory was nothing more than a fleeting bubble."

Viserys murmured, and Ser Connington was silent, for he knew the truth of the king's words.

Both of them knew that it didn't matter if the infantry suffered heavy losses. As long as these nobles and knights survived, the backbone of the usurper dynasty would be preserved. With these people still around, they could have as many infantry as cannon fodder as they wanted.

It won't take long for Hugo's Andalusian border troops to support the usurper. They are far stronger than the militias summoned by the lords, and with the support of the Lannisters and Martells, it will not be difficult to repel the northerners.

Not to mention that the damn long winter will continue to stimulate the population to migrate eastward. Even though the centaurs have slaughtered a large area of ​​land this time, new villages and new lords will appear there in a few years.

In other words, even if the usurper's army was defeated in this battle, as long as he was not killed, it would be the same as doing nothing. These immigrants who were guarding their property would continue to resist and delay the Eastern Alliance until the immortal Arryn mobilized a new army from Westeros and crossed the sea...

An awkward silence echoed between the two of them, neither of them could speak, the future was too bleak.

"We are another Golden Company." Viserys paused, then continued to speak, breaking the awkward silence, "But will we be as lucky as the Golden Company? Will we ever be able to settle down? Will you and I ever see that day?"

Clinton wanted to encourage the discouraged king, but when the words of comfort came to his lips, he couldn't say them because he knew that they were too fake.

"Another Golden Group, another Blackfyre. My ancestors once treated Blackfyre like stink bugs. They probably never thought that such a fate would befall their descendants."

The exiled monarch murmured to himself, "Even I must admit now that the era of Targaryen has passed, but it cannot perish. Only by living can there be a chance for change... even if it is like Blackfyre."

(End of this chapter)