"Everyone, prepare! Fire!"
Under the command of Earl Blackwood, two hundred longbowmen of the Blackwood Family unleashed a sky-darkening rain of arrows upon the Blinken Family warriors, who had fallen into chaos due to the massive fire.
The longbows of the Blackwood Family were meticulously crafted from Weirwood, possessing exceptional toughness and immense penetrating power. They were considered among the three most excellent bows, alongside the Goldenheart Wood longbows and Dragonbone longbows of the Summer Isles.
Swish, swish, swish!
The arrow rain easily pierced through the bodies of many Blinkon warriors, who no longer had the protection of their armor.
"Ah!"
The scorching pain of the flames and thick smoke, combined with the agony of arrows piercing their bodies, made the Blinken Family warriors let out tragic howls. Their cries were so piercing that even the residents of Harroway Town could hear them.
Many warriors had not yet recovered from the fear of being surrounded by the raging fire when they were again subjected to the pain of arrows piercing them. Because the Blinken Family army, under the intense heat of the inferno, had been forced to shed their scorching hot armor, they naturally could not withstand the arrows flying from a distance. After the first wave of attack, over a hundred men lay dead.
Harold and Zos shouted themselves hoarse, trying to stabilize the army. Fortunately, the knights were well-trained; although they had lost their warhorses, they immediately commanded the warriors to form a shield wall, which effectively blocked the first wave of arrow attacks.
Choking, thick smoke rolled in, making the Blinkon army cough as if they were trying to cough up their lungs.
"Wet your clothes and cover your mouths and noses!"
As the chief instructor of the Blinken Family, Harold was quite experienced, and he immediately gave the correct instructions to the army. In fact, when facing a fire attack, the scorching flames are not the most terrifying; the most terrifying thing is the thick smoke.
In a fire, most people are engulfed by the flames and lose their lives because they succumb to smoke inhalation and fall unconscious.
But now they were completely surrounded by the inferno. In this season, dry grass was everywhere, and the wind near the river was strong. In just a short while, the reed beds within a few kilometers had all been ignited.
Many birds nesting in the reeds also suffered an undeserved calamity, their feathers instantly catching fire. In their death throes, they carried the embers even further, causing the fire to grow stronger in the reed beds stretching for dozens of kilometers.
Even Marquis Frey, who had prepared a firebreak in advance, was already sweating profusely from the heat. Not to mention the Blinken Family army, which was completely engulfed by the fire.
Many clever warriors, disregarding the licking flames, frantically fled into nearby ditches, covering themselves with a layer of foul-smelling mud, which allowed them to survive the inferno.
"Calm down! Shield protection!"
Now, the Blinkon army not only faced the engulfing inferno but also had to guard against sudden arrow attacks. Therefore, Harold Blinken and his knights could only sacrifice pawns to save the king, forming a shield wall to protect the direct descendants of the Blinken Family on the relatively safe main road.
Many Blinken Family warriors covered their mouths and noses with wet clothes and began frantically fleeing along the main road, where the fire was currently the least intense.
"Fire!"
However, a new round of arrow attacks immediately came, and many more warriors fell amidst the arrows.
At this moment, the Frey Family warriors, armed with crossbows, had appeared at both ends of the main road. They ignited the haystacks blocking the road, completely cutting off the Blinken Family warriors' escape route.
But extreme danger always stimulates adrenaline, and many Blinkon warriors directly covered their entire bodies with roadside sewage and mud, preparing to fight their way out of the fiery encirclement.
Meanwhile, the Frey Family crossbowmen mercilessly pulled their triggers on those who charged forward. Although the range of crossbows was limited, their accuracy within range was extremely high, and changing arrows was convenient.
Therefore, less than a hundred Frey Family crossbowmen firmly held both ends of the road. In less than half an hour, several hundred Blinken Family warriors had fallen under their crossbows.
Although the fire in the reed beds burned fiercely, it did not last long. After more than half an hour, the entire reed bed was almost completely burned out.
Although the ground was as hot as a boiling pot, the remaining seven or eight hundred men of the Blinken Family army had survived the most dangerous moment.
However, among these seven or eight hundred men, a large portion had suffered severe burns. They were now stubbornly enduring, relying on the adrenaline secreted by the body when facing danger.
As the surrounding fire gradually extinguished, these men slowly became aware of the intense pain in their bodies. Some even collapsed, unable to bear it, and wailed incessantly.
Marquis Frey and his men, during this half an hour, fortunately captured over a hundred Blinken Family blood-red warhorses. Now, with their arrows nearly depleted, they ceased their arrow attacks.
Earl Blackwood ordered his warriors to first wrap their own bodies and the limbs of their horses with large wet clothes, and then directly charged towards the remaining Blinkon army.
Although there were no open flames around the Blinkon army now, the still-burning grass roots and scorching ground could easily scald a person.
Therefore, their feet had to be protected, otherwise, they themselves would likely be injured before even reaching the Blinkon army.
The towering inferno in the reed beds naturally attracted the attention of the Trident and Earl Reyes on the opposite bank.
"This is bad! I'm afraid they have already encountered my Blinken Family's forces."
Earl Blinken looked at the rolling thick smoke and could not help but feel worried, so he confirmed with the knights beside him,
"None of you have spotted any dragons, have you?"
As Earl Blinken, who had personally experienced Maegor and Aegon's Gods Eye Lake battle, he immediately recalled the terrifying sight of dragons setting the land ablaze when he saw the rolling thick smoke.
"No dragons have appeared, my Lord!"
"Yes, my Lord! At such close proximity, if a dragon had appeared, we would certainly have seen it."
Upon receiving confirmation from those around him, the Earl's mood relaxed slightly, but at this point, he could no longer bear to wait. So he immediately found Earl Reyes and Earl of Peake and said,
"Since the battle has begun over there, let's cross the river directly! Otherwise, even if my Blinken Family warriors win, the losses will be heavy."
Since the ambush had failed, Earl Reyes and his men naturally did not refuse and immediately organized their troops to prepare for battle across the river.
Meanwhile, under the charge of the Frey Family and Blackwood Family armies, the Blinken Family's forces had already collapsed into disarray.
After just the first engagement, the Blinken Family was left with only four or five hundred men. Fortunately, their hundred knights were indeed formidable in battle; their shield wall had firmly withstood several charges from the Blackwood Family knights.
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