Game of Thrones: Digger of the Dreadfort

But after all, he is quite polite and has the dignity and stance of a great nobleman:

"In the name of Renly Baratheon I, King of the Andals, Rhoynar, and First Men, Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realms.

His Majesty Renly sent me here to negotiate peace with Lord Domeric Bolton, the 'Hand of the King'! "

"Reconciliation?"

Domeric kicked the spur lightly and urged the horse forward.

He was wearing the iconic black heavy armor, with a red cloak with black satin star pattern behind him. A shield with the Bolton family crest was tied to the saddle, and several people followed closely behind him.

From a distance of tens of meters, Domeric couldn't see the other person's expression clearly.

But I knew this was Randyll Tarly's delaying strategy...

Chapter 296 Compose a tune and stand on the opposite side?

The turbid water of the Mandeb River shines in the sun.

The shadow of the bitter bridge is reflected in the water.

It’s as if you can hear the ghosts of those who were massacred at the “Poor People’s Gathering” wailing in your ears...

"Let Lord Renly wash his neck and wait. The gods will judge him for his treason..."

Domeric responded coldly to Count Matus Rowan's peace proposal.

He lightly kicked his spurs, turned his horse's head and walked away, followed immediately by Wilfield and others behind him.

Domeric originally thought that Lord Matus would be severely punished by Renly Baratheon and marginalized after suffering the previous defeat.

When the time comes, he can take advantage of the situation and win over her. In addition, he has already sent someone to secretly kidnap his daughter. These are all bargaining chips.

But she didn't expect that the Earl of Golden Tree City still had Ren Li's trust. She really underestimated the caliber of that "Lan Tong".

Domeric knew that the so-called "peace negotiation" mentioned by the other party was just a delaying tactic.

Of course, even if Renly Baratheon truly wanted peace, he would not agree to it.

Domeric would not understand the principle of "killing someone while he is sick".

At the moment, Stannis is besieging Storm's End, the Stormlands coalition forces in Bitterbridge have just gone through the rebellion, and Renly Baratheon is recovering from a serious injury...

If he couldn't seize such a great opportunity, the gods would blame him.

That night, on the north bank of the Mandeb River.

A full moon floats on the water.

Domeric launched a "Operation Crossing the River".

A large number of spearmen, archers, and sword and shield soldiers gathered into teams. They took off their heavy armor and wore leather armor and black cloaks on their shoulders.

Like a huge black snake, it meandered back to a shoal not far from the Bitter Bridge, which was the landing point he had chosen in advance.

…………

On the south bank of the Mandalay River, the plain stretches endlessly, broad and open, and the bright moonlight illuminates the surrounding areas of the river bank.

The ford in front of us, as well as several other crossings upstream, were defended by Count Matus Rowan.

Although he was severely defeated in the previous battle, he was still entrusted with important tasks by Lord Randyll Tarly.

"The enemy is indeed here! Lord Earl." A knight next to him said.

"Lord Landao is indeed right!"

Count Matus Rowan looked incredulous.

Earl Landau had told him earlier that the enemy might cross the river at night to launch a night attack.

Count Matus also tried to refute:

"Domeric Bolton, as the Hand of the King and a knight, would not commit such a shameful night attack..."

"This is war, not a child's knight's game!" the other party gave the order seriously.

Apparently Lord Randyll Tarly was right!

war of the Damned!

Damn the Hand of the King!

Damn Domeric Bolton!

The enemy troops formed a long line and marched along the river bank.

Count Matus's men were waiting for them, hiding behind rocks, grass and hills.

There were no trumpets or trumpets.

The soldiers pushed down heavy improvised rafts, many of which were made of intertwined shields, causing splashes of water.

The soldiers on the raft waved their spears vigorously to serve as oars, but soon they got stuck on the iron rope on the dark stone.

"It's now."

In the darkness, it was difficult to distinguish what was happening in front of me.

For a moment, there was only a scream and a faint sound of steel clashing.

A flag suddenly disappeared because the flag bearer fell off the raft due to an arrow and was swept away by the river.

The first victim of this battle floated over the stone arch of the Bitter Bridge and flowed eastward along the Mander River.

The King's Hand probably thought he could take advantage of the darkness or the garrison's laxity, but he was totally wrong.

Darkness is a suspicious ally!

Count Matus's crossbowmen released bursts of rockets, and the flying arrows hissed over the river, which looked very beautiful from a distance.

In an instant, dozens of soldiers were hit by arrows and their clothes were on fire. They were jumping up and down on the raft, and finally jumped into the water and were swept away by the rushing river.

By the time their bodies floated across the stone arch bridge, the flames and life had been extinguished.

He will gain an exciting victory, Count Matus thought.

At this time, the men and horses crossing the river had realized that they were being attacked from the other side, and they raised their shields one after another.

Count Matus directed the crossbowmen to raise their crossbows high, shoot arrows into the sky, and throw them.

The arrow passed over the opponent's shield wall and hit the soldier below wearing only leather armor.

At the same time, the trebuchet placed on the river embankment began to roar, throwing countless heavy stones and shattering the rafts used by the enemy to cross the river.

…………

Loras, the Knight of Flowers, came to Renly's chamber and shook his shoulder.

Renly was immediately startled, "What's wrong?"

"There is a situation in Kuqiao. The enemy has launched a night attack, Your Majesty."

Putting on his nightgown, Renly hurried to the top of the frontline command post.

This was originally the castle of the Custer family and is now transformed into the command post of the Bitterbridge Front.

From then on, through the high city walls and the moonlit river, he saw the place where the two armies were fighting.

Count Matus has ordered a warning bonfire to be lit on the river bank...

Most of the attackers were sunk before they even reached the river bank.

The remaining survivors managed to land by luck, but were forced back into the river by spears and iron guns...

However, the distance was too far and Renly couldn't see any more details.

At this moment, two nobles in uniform strode over.

The former is the "inflatable fish" Duke Mace Tyrell, and the latter is Lord Randyll Tarly, the commander of the entire Bitterbridge Alliance.

"Good night, Your Majesty." They bowed.

"Two adults, you are here too. Did we win the battle just now?"

"Of course," the Duke of Metz patted his belly and mentioned the battle that just broke out:

"If your Majesty saw the battle live, he would dance to celebrate.

The enemy's surprise attack had no effect, but left a lot of corpses behind.

They threw hundreds of corpses into the river, and less than a dozen of them rushed to our bank and were killed in two or three blows.

Count Matus Rowan was in charge of that ford. Although he had lost a battle before, he had not betrayed His Majesty's trust just now..."

It seemed wise to forgive Lord Matus. His magnanimity undoubtedly won him the wholehearted support of his nobles, Renly thought.

Earl Landau glanced at the "inflatable fish" and couldn't understand why he changed his stance for a while, and said calmly:

"It's just a small victory, the battle has just begun."

A victory after all!

Renly asked Lord Randyll what he thought of the night attack.

"It was just a flick of Domeric Bolton's fingertips, Your Majesty."

Earl Randyll put his hand on the hilt of his ancestral Valyrian steel sword and patted it gently:

“He was probing, looking for a point of weakness, a point where our defense was empty.

If he can't find it, he might tighten his fingers, become an iron fist, and punch him out..."

"Then can we defend it?" Renly asked nervously.

Earl Landau said confidently: "Your Majesty, please rest assured.

The terrain on the south bank of the Mandeb River is much higher than that on the north bank.

Our archers have better protection, wider vision...

Even if something unexpected happens, I have kept my best knights as backup, ready to respond if there is an urgent need.

If all goes well, this river will firmly block the enemy's advance..."

"Lord Landau, I pray that you are right and that the gods will be on our side."