Rumble, rumble, rumble...
The third round of cannon fire rang out. This low rumble, like the roar of a beast, not only shattered the fighting spirit of the infantry vanguard led by Matus Rowan, but also heavily struck the nerves of the main Riverlands cavalry force slightly south of the battlefield.
As a sharp weapon against ranged units and a trump card for victory, this largest pure cavalry force in the history of Westeros was equipped with a dream team led by Garlan Tyrell, assisted by Loras Tyrell and Dickon Tarly, among others, bringing together the best of the younger generation with many outstanding qualities such as seasoned prudence, exceptional martial skill, courage in battle, and decisive strategic thinking. As a key force in the defense of Highgarden, they had also received a set of non-linear, multi-dimensional contingency plans from the supreme command.
The cavalry commanders first had to split off a sufficient number from their astonishing troop count to form countless ranger and reconnaissance teams, three layers deep inside and three layers outside, surrounding Daenerys' Western Expeditionary Army on all sides, regardless of whether it was south or north of the Mander, weaving a huge screening net to prevent the scouts sent by Aegor from leaving cannon range and obtaining any intelligence beyond what they could see. On this basis, the main body of nearly 20,000 cavalry then secretly concealed their movements about two or three miles away, a distance barely visible to the naked eye but reachable in an instant by a fast horse.
What they had to do was seize any fleeting opportunity that appeared, including but not limited to a mistake in Aegor's battle formation, Daenerys' army sallying out or pursuing the Rowan vanguard and causing disconnection between units, or the main infantry force led by King Aegon engaging him head-on and becoming locked in fierce battle. In short, whenever one of these brief opportunities appeared, they had to seize it swiftly, use the cavalry's mobility and charge to offset the Western Expeditionary Army's advantage in thermal weapons, reverse the situation, and seize victory.
...
The sun was bright, and the spring breeze was gentle and warm. If not for the faint rumbling from the north indicating that this was a battlefield, the surroundings would have felt as relaxed and pleasant as a spring outing. Their overwhelming numerical advantage and home-field advantage ensured that the area around them was a safe zone, while their identity as the "last trump card" meant the cavalry force did not need to risk entering Daenerys' cannon range to attract attention. Riding tall warhorses that looked especially spirited from being well fed, the three young commanders briefly detached from the main force and rode toward the direction of the cannon fire, climbing a low earthen embankment to begin observing the already heated battle from afar.
Because of the different angle of observation, Daenerys' army, facing them with its broadest side, looked vast, massive, and perfectly uniform. In contrast, their own infantry vanguard was only a narrow line, appearing crooked because the flanks had been stretched too far. Fortunately, thanks to the large number of banners prepared for display, the two sides seemed roughly equal in momentum at first glance.
However, large plumes of white smoke were continuously rising from the western end of Daenerys' main formation, accompanied by rolling thunder. Carried by the wind, the smoke spread from east to west, drifting toward the silent Riverlands vanguard. From a distance, it looked like a burly man lying beside the Mander, smoking and blowing the smoke into the face of a delicate girl opposite him.
It was clear, even without analysis or judgment, that Daenerys' army held the complete upper hand and initiative, while the Riverlands infantry vanguard could only passively endure the assault, completely unable to strike back.
Fortunately, this was entirely within the expectations of the Riverlands allied forces.
"Daenerys' cannon fire is more concentrated than it was at King's Landing," said Loras Tyrell, the famed Knight of Flowers of the Seven Kingdoms, the first to notice the situation. "They must have received a fresh supply of weapons from the Long Night Industrial Park... Damn it, we should have razed that industrial park to the ground."
"Don't talk nonsense. At the time, the industrial park was garrisoned by Daenerys' Unsullied. How could we have possibly gone there looking for trouble?" Garlan Tyrell rebutted him in a calm tone unlike the rest of his peers. "Even if we had taken the industrial park, with Father and Margaery's thinking, they would definitely have protected that cash cow like a child in their arms. And by the time the Night's Watch campaign in the south reached the outskirts of King's Landing, it absolutely could not have been defended. Observe the battlefield properly, gather useful intelligence, and stop daydreaming!"
The brothers of Highgarden began talking first, while Dickon Tarly beside them silently raised his spyglass. Having inherited the mantle of his old man, Randyll Tarly, he understood that calm and careful observation and analysis were far more important than meaningless chatter at a moment like this.
They were directly south of Daenerys' army, looking at it head-on from the broad base of the trapezoid. From this angle and height, it was difficult to tell with the naked eye that it was an isosceles trapezoid, but that did not stop the observers from noticing that the formation was composed of several thousand-man square formations, and that the two non-parallel sides of the trapezoid formed simple diagonal formations.
"That formation the Night's Watch has adopted is quite strange... I don't know whether to call it unprecedented or extremely conservative, but it looks defensive," he said. This was not good... He did not lower the spyglass, but slowly turned the barrel to adjust his field of view while reporting his observations aloud. "And it's facing us horizontally? Tsk, it does not seem to be a simple horizontal line either. This is a bit troublesome."
The expressions of the two young Tyrell lords changed when they heard this, and they also picked up their spyglasses to observe. Sure enough, the situation was exactly as Dickon had described, and it immediately sent a chill through them.
"How... does this formation look like it was specifically arranged to guard against us?" Loras' voice could not hide his agitation. He finally realized there was a reason why that Night's Watchman on the opposite side was invincible. "If he just stays put and keeps bombarding us, we simply cannot force our way through such a heavily defended heavy infantry square formation!"
Garlan frowned for a moment, unable to refute this judgment, and could only offer reassurance. "Don't panic. If he holds his ground and does not move, we cannot do anything to him, but he also cannot get close to Highgarden. Our army has already cut off his supply lines, so time is on the Riverlands' side!"
"Lord Rowan likely will not be able to hold out much longer under such cannon fire. I suggest ordering the entire army to prepare for battle," Dickon said. He constantly remembered the points his father, Randyll Tarly, had told him to keep in mind. "Aegor may not underestimate us and be lured into a trap, but whether Daenerys' army pursues or keeps its formation and slowly marches west, gaps will inevitably appear during movement. At that time, that will be our chance to win immortal glory!"
Garlan nodded. "The enemy formation is too narrow. Twenty thousand cavalry cannot all be deployed at once. If we force them in, they will easily collide with one another and fall into disorder. We will divide the troops into three parts, charge in turns, and keep up continuous pressure. Victory will then only be a matter of time."
"Ah... Lord Rowan's vanguard is loosening!" Loras cried out, alerting the other two.
They turned their attention back to the battlefield. Sure enough, under the gaze of the three, the Riverlands infantry vanguard, which had formed a long snake-like line, began to break into fragmented sections from the center outward, as if it were shattering. These segments then moved independently toward nearby gentle slopes or hills and hid behind them, leaving only the standard-bearers on the crests. What had originally been one long solid line visibly turned into a broken, intermittent dashed line. Any commander of this era could tell, even without thinking, that if troops were sent in to attack at that moment, they could easily tear through the enemy formation and win a great victory.
"They are showing weakness to lure the enemy!" Although the timing was a little earlier than agreed and the form was not quite right, Garlan instantly understood Lord Rowan's intentions. He waved his hand decisively. "You two, return to the troops. The moment that Night's Watchman sends troops out of formation, attack immediately!"
"Yes, my lord!"
On the front line, as the Riverlands vanguard's line formation disintegrated and shifted, the hearts of all observers rose into their throats. But under the gaze of countless tense eyes, Daenerys' Western Expeditionary Army, arrayed opposite them, showed no sign of sallying out. Instead, the Riverlands vanguard, which had actively changed formation in preparation to lure the enemy, unexpectedly collapsed on its own in the middle of the maneuver.
(To be continued.)