Cadmus looked at both armies from above; it was the first real battle he had seen, so he was quite curious. However, he was soon disappointed. Unlike what is shown in movies, where both armies run towards each other, true war was a balanced collision between two fronts.
When both armies marched towards each other, the spearmen began to try to kill the one between the shield barrier. It was difficult to kill the enemy under these conditions and extremely exhausting; therefore, after a while, both armies would retreat like a wave and then advance.
Cadmus finally understood why killing two or three men brought great rewards for soldiers. Don't say two; even killing one man was extremely difficult. The reason for this was simple: people only had one life and fought with all their might to survive.
In such a battle, it would last little more than three minutes before exhaustion began to consume the soldiers' bodies.
It was a truly hellish sight to see two men who didn't know each other and didn't even know what they were fighting for, killing each other like two mad animals.
Looking at the Baratheon army being consumed by the Targaryen army, Rhaegar's strategy was simple: divide the enemy army in two and attack the separated enemy in different locations.
Of course, the Baratheon army would not stand still waiting to be torn apart by the center. Most of the shieldmen were in the center, while the spearmen turned the center of the army into a true human meat grinder. However, this also meant that the flanks of the Baratheon Army were the weak point.
The world was like that; no battle formation was perfect, the same applied to the Targaryen army. To combat the center of the enemy army, the strongest war force was centered in the middle, while the less strong were on the flanks.
The most logical thing would be to focus on the enemy flanks, but if Rhaegar left the center of the army weaker, it would be his army that would be divided in two.
"Now I understand why they last months without even seeing a victory." Cadmus murmured, watching both armies retreat again. It was perhaps the last advance of the day. Swords were chipped, spears broken, armor damaged. This was the scene at the end of the day on the battlefield. Of course, the most important thing is to treat the wounded and rest.
"I admire Rhaegar for truly maintaining the dynasty, even with fewer troops." He murmured, remembering the madness that was Robert's Rebellion.
Of course, if Rhaegar hadn't thought with his lower head and married Lyanna, a lot would have been avoided. Not to mention that Rhaegar was planning a coup before Robert's Rebellion. And, with the support of the Great Houses, the chance of the coup succeeding was very high.
Unfortunately, one woman caused so much chaos. Robert rebelled; Aerys burned Eddard's father and brother, the Vale soon followed with Jon Arryn supporting his adopted sons. In short, total chaos because of a pussy.
A true Trojan War.
Returning to the camp, Cadmus saw Rhaegar with his armor stained with blood. The army's morale was high; the king was fighting alongside the soldiers. Which could not be said for the other side.
Because of the enormous difference in numbers, Robert did not enter the battlefield, not when more than a hundred thousand men wanted his head. It was foolish to enter the battlefield at that moment. If he died, the entire rebellion would come to an abrupt end, and the fragile alliance he had with other houses would end with his death.
As for whether House Baratheon would continue the war after his death, Robert was not naive enough to think he had two truly loyal brothers. Faced with title and power, even a son will kill his father, much less brothers.
"You stink, my king." Cadmus sat in the chair next to him and said with a touch of amusement. Not being a king at that moment was the best thing in the world.
Rhaegar, who was removing his armor with the help of his squires, couldn't help but roll his eyes. He looked at Cadmus's clean clothes and how casual he was, with a touch of envy. His good brother had a better life than him.
A great castle, a princess as a wife, great power, and great riches. Honestly, comparing himself to Cadmus made him wonder if he was really the king.
"I really want to ask you to burn the enemy army with some crazy magic, but that would create even more chaos. These nobles would make monsters of me and you to the world; I would lose control over the people." Washing his blood-stained hands, Rhaegar said with a helpless tone.
"Fear is a good power to control the masses, but something always goes wrong when fear is used." Cadmus agreed with Rhaegar's opinion. Not to mention that he wasn't a psychopathic killer who enjoyed killing.
He could kill enemies without a second thought, but soldiers only obeyed orders and were mere commoners; he wouldn't do such a thing. Call him a hypocrite, but killing so many people was insane; feeling absolutely nothing was insane.
Rhaegar nodded; a reign of fear was too unstable. Even if he were to accept such a reign, it was not certain if his successor would be a good ruler. The history of the Targaryen Dynasty is full of bad and mediocre rulers.
He didn't want to risk everything for a quick victory.
"However, our enemy doesn't think the same. I've been feeling remnants of dark magic in the air for some time now. Apparently, someone has been continuously creating Shadow Babies." Cadmus commented with a cold smile.
Rhaegar's face didn't change at all. With Cadmus by his side, he discovered many things he didn't know about magic. This knowledge was basic, but it was precious and rare knowledge, which would be taught to all future Targaryen kings.
So, Rhaegar knew what a Shadow Baby was and how it was made. Looking at Cadmus, he spoke with a calm tone: "That red witch named Melisandre is a problem."
Cadmus nodded, obviously agreeing with Rhaegar. Melisandre was indeed a problem; the woman was a fanatic and a powerful four-hundred-year-old sorceress. Living so long was incredibly crazy, as the knowledge and power accumulated over four hundred years are not something to be treated casually.
Her danger was greater than Stregobor, whom he had fought before. An enemy with the strength of a true divine apostle.
"She is a four-hundred-year-old witch, a true absolute monster in terms of knowledge. Probably Apostle level." Cadmus commented calmly. Rhaegar's movements stiffened hearing such words.
Apostolos, that was a legendary word he thought he would only see in books about the Age of Heroes and the Age of a Hundred Kingdoms.
Swallowing hard, Rhaegar looked at the court wizard and asked with a solemn tone. "Can you fight such a monster?"
Before a monster that could leave his name in history as a legendary figure, Rhaegar felt, for the first time, a touch of apprehension. Don't call him a coward; the power of these figures was simply something that did not belong to the human category.
"I can kill her, don't worry." Cadmus reassured the king with a smile. However, he knew that, compared to these old monsters of hundreds of years, his lack of experience was a weakness he couldn't resolve quickly.
Cadmus looked at Rhaegar and commented with a thoughtful look. "Also, apparently, this woman hasn't spoken about her own power, so everyone thinks she's just a normal red priestess. Which shows that she doesn't want to attack personally, but help Robert for some reason I don't know."
Rhaegar frowned; he didn't think that was good news. The more mysterious this witch was, the more dangerous she was. He preferred her to fight head-on than in the shadows. You can hide from the sword on the battlefield, but never from an arrow shot from the shadows.
"What do you think she wants to do?" Rhaegar asked with a solemn tone. The idea of such an ancient and powerful witch in the shadows was, honestly, unnerving.
"Just like Kinvara, the High Red Priestess, Melisandre has a possibility of joining the victorious group against the Long Night." Cadmus spoke with a touch of uncertainty. It was difficult to guess the thoughts of such ancient beings.
Hearing about the Long Night, Rhaegar's face subtly contorted, but soon returned to normal. Although the world thought he married Lyanna out of lust, the world was wrong.
He was a Dreamer, someone who can see the future through dreams. He saw the Long Night coming in his Era, he saw the dead coming from the North.
So, when he first saw Lyanna, he felt she was the right woman to carry the world's future savior. Rhaegar decided to risk even the coup d'état to give the world a chance of victory in the Long Night.
However, over the years, he discovered that his sons or daughters were not the world's savior. The image of Daenerys appeared in Rhaegar's mind, making him sigh.
He recently realized that Daenerys fit the image of the world's savior more than his sons and daughters.
This left him powerless, but, at the same time, relieved. For he knew that the world would be saved.
"I will be on guard, you can rest, my king." Seeing Rhaegar in silence, Cadmus shook his head and left these words before leaving the tent.
"Dany..." Letting out a sigh, Rhaegar looked at Cadmus's back with a determined gaze. "I will create a stable world for you to guide this world to salvation."
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Note: Guys, I'm working at my father construction company, so I'm way too busy to write anything. But I'll be posting more often now that I've finally quit and told my dad I'm not his free servant!
Damn, if you lend a hand to help, people want your whole arm—and eventually your whole body and mind.
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