Chapter 141: Giant Beasts Unleashed
The Stormlands, the Kingswood, near the Rose Road
This was a small hill on the outskirts of the Kingswood. From here, one could observe the entire battlefield clearly through a Myrish lens.
"This is actually a fairly competent commander. I thought he would simply throw all his soldiers forward at once."
After handing the telescope to beside him, Jon voiced his opinion of Renly.
"I do not understand much about the military formations of your era. In the past, no matter how many troops the enemy possessed, once we unleashed dragons, they could only surrender or die. The infantry of Old Ghis was once considered the strongest military force in the world, yet they still fell beneath Dragonfire."
After giving the battlefield a brief glance, Jeyne Arryn returned the telescope with obvious boredom. She preferred overwhelming force and disliked drawn-out battles.
"Dragons are not omnipotent, not to mention we do not even possess a true dragon yet. Today, let us see how effective these Drakons really are in combat."
"Woooo—! Woooo—!"
As Jon finished speaking, long horn blasts echoed across the battlefield, startling flocks of birds into the sky.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Amid the rhythmic collision of armor and weapons, the heavily armored knights at the front advanced steadily, while the levies and mercenaries behind them followed in formation. Spears were held upright, ready to lower and thrust into enemy bodies at the appropriate moment.
Because of 's strategy, the powerful cavalry of the Stormlands and lost the advantage of mounted charges. Although knights were significantly weaker without the momentum of horses, even dismounted they remained far deadlier than ordinary levies or sellswords.
The three massive infantry formations each consisted of roughly ten thousand men. The Stormlands forces occupied the center, while the armies of guarded the left and right flanks.
To be safe, Renly retained another twenty thousand troops as reserves under his direct command. In his estimation, Stannis being able to gather more than twenty thousand men was already impressive enough.
As long as he advanced carefully and steadily, Renly believed only destruction awaited Stannis.
As the three infantry formations marched forward, Stannis, positioned within the Kingswood, also received reports from his scouts.
Most of the Kingswood consisted of evergreen broadleaf trees. In the outer hundred meters of forest, Stannis's men had already cleared large sections, leaving only bushes and scattered branches behind as camouflage.
The Kingswood's trees were exceptionally tall. Although a massive wildfire had once ravaged the forest during the reign of , the woodland had only grown denser afterward.
Behind the cleared zone, Stannis had already prepared numerous traps, intending to lure Renly's forces deep inside.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Accompanied by the sound of marching armor, Renly's enormous army gradually entered the forest.
"Huff… Huff…"
Steve Flowers was a knight with Tyrell blood. Standing over two meters tall and skilled with a massive warhammer, he was nicknamed "Warhammer Steve."
Steve Flowers commanded the vanguard of the left flank. Brave and fierce in battle, he was trusted by countless soldiers who believed that following behind him guaranteed safety.
"Bang! Crack! Screech!"
After smashing apart a bush blocking the path, Steve's hammer caused the resilient branches to scrape harshly against his armor before snapping away.
"Keep moving!"
The surrounding knights followed his example, hacking through shrubs and brushwood. As they continued advancing, they noticed that the trees ahead had begun thinning out.
However, despite this discovery, the commanders gave no order to halt because they had already spotted the banners of Stannis's troops deeper within the forest.
"He's asking for death. We can barely maneuver in this cursed place. Is that Tyrell brat an idiot?"
After seeing the dense rows of sharpened stakes and barricades in the forest, Steve Flowers could not help but curse aloud.
As the formations continued forward, the ground—still soaked from yesterday's rain—became increasingly muddy. For heavily armored knights like Steve, the terrain felt more like a swamp than a battlefield.
"Keep moving! We outnumber them; we'll be fine."
A knight from quickly tried to reassure him.
"We—Pfft! Aaagh!"
Before another knight could finish complaining, a massive ballista bolt suddenly tore through his chest, the tremendous force caving in his breastplate.
The unfortunate man was hurled backward, crashing into several soldiers before finally stopping.
"Enemy attack!"
As confusion spread, countless bolts rained down from small wooden forts hidden nearby.
These forts resembled stacked wooden towers. Though only two stories tall, the first floor alone rose nearly five meters high, and numerous heavy crossbows and ballistae were mounted inside.
Within dense forests, ordinary bows were almost useless. Crossbows were slightly more effective, though only marginally so. After unleashing a devastating volley, the forts suddenly ceased fire.
Just as Renly's soldiers began wondering what was happening, Stannis's true trap was sprung.
"The trees are falling!"
Shrill screams erupted one after another as the massive trees surrounding the forts suddenly collapsed.
Only then did the soldiers of the Stormlands and realize the truth: the forest had not been left standing due to lack of time—it had been deliberately prepared for them.
The tops of the giant trees had all been connected with thick hemp ropes. Once several key anchor points were cut, entire rows of trees toppled together.
"Aaaagh!"
"Crunch!"
"Help me!"
"Seven save us!"
As the trees crashed down like the hands of giants, nobles, knights, mercenaries, and levies alike screamed in terror. Against such overwhelming force, there was no resistance possible.
After suffering the ambush, Renly's three infantry formations descended into complete chaos. Simply moving through the forest had already disrupted their organization, and now the collapsing trees shattered what little order remained.
"Fire!"
As soon as the nearby forest cleared, Stannis immediately gave the order to attack. The prepared crossbows and ballistae unleashed another devastating barrage.
With their formations broken and their protection ruined, Renly's troops were slaughtered by the incoming bolts. Screams and cries filled the Kingswood.
"Woooo—! Woooo—!"
At the sound of the horns, Stannis's waiting army surged forward toward Renly's now-disordered forces.
The first to emerge were the Dornish warriors. Armed with curved twin blades, they moved swiftly among the fallen trees and charged directly into Renly's collapsing lines.
The already panicked soldiers fell into even greater disorder. Once their formation completely disintegrated, the battle devolved into brutal close-range slaughter.
Most of the Dornishmen coated their weapons with snake and scorpion venom. At first the wounds seemed harmless, but as blood circulated, the poison rapidly destroyed the victim's body.
In this surprise assault, Stannis committed all twenty thousand of his men. He knew that if he destroyed Renly's elite forces in one stroke, the rest of Renly's army would collapse soon after.
Watching the enemy descend into total chaos, a satisfied smile appeared on Stannis's face. The balance of war had tilted in his favor.
And now, he intended to place one final weight upon the scales—a weight that would secure total victory.
"Prepare!"
At Stannis's command, Roy, who stood beside him, withdrew a strange horn.
The horn was covered in glowing runes. Its black metallic surface gleamed like polished iron, and strange ripples spread through the air around it.
"Woooo—! Woooo—!"
Taking a deep breath, Roy blew the horn with all his strength.
As the sound echoed through the forest, two enormous figures slowly opened their eyes inside a gigantic tent hidden among the trees.
Towering vertical pupils.
Hideous reptilian heads.
Black scales.
Bodies twice the size of elephants.
Everything about these terrifying beasts proclaimed their identity without question—
They were dragons.
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