"Care for a drink?" Bluebeard asked in somewhat broken speech. "Pear brandy, something we Tyrosh people can't do without."
The two guards at the inner gate of the West River Keep hesitated for a moment before accepting the fine wine. They saw no one behind them. "Speaking of which, you're the Mercenaries who arrived today, right? Looks like you haven't been assigned quarters yet. You'll probably be assigned to the East Keep camp."
"Even if we're selling our lives, we still need to eat our fill, brother," Bluebeard chuckled.
"But we can only say, Lord Frey has too many children."
"That's for sure..." A Frey taxi soldiers lowered his voice. "Others can't envy it."
"But aren't we going out to fight?"
"Fight? I haven't heard anything."
"Alright, I saw a few young masters with Marquess Walder today, they looked like warriors."
"You mean them?" The soldiers suddenly realized. "Jerry, Hosdton, Danyel, the bastard Ronnor. They do manage the men, but who would go out to fight the lion? They say the Lord even has connections with the lion."
"So that's how it is. Then I've come to the right place. I'm here to make money, not to die."
"What a cunning Mercenary."
"Heh heh."
"That's how Mercenaries are, you have to survive to get paid. But if I'm lucky enough to be assigned here, who should I serve?"
"West River? Are you dreaming? But since you're someone the Lannister hired, it's truly possible you could be our partner. After all, Lannister always hires high-priced Mercenaries." The soldier eyed Bluebeard.
"The West Keep is Hosdton's, the East Keep is Danyel's, the tower is the bastard's. The Lord saved money on Commander. As for the eldest young master, he's old and doesn't have the energy."
Bluebeard carefully remembered those fragments of information. The few people around Frey must be the family's Commanders: Jerry managed the overall area, Hosdton managed the West River Keep, Danyel was the East Keep, and the bastard was the tower. As for the oldest weasel, he was the heir.
Bluebeard pondered. There were many favorable conditions today. Because of the distinguished guest, Frey also stayed in the West Keep. But the unfavorable condition was that Ser Marq was practically under house arrest. Frey wanted to arrange a marriage for him, and Marq's men suddenly had no leader. As for the Mercenaries, it was normal for Mercenaries to be fickle; they just needed a simple performance.
They waited until the Hour of the Wolf, the deepest part of the night and the most tiring time for everyone. The Frey Family taxi soldiers would change shifts during the Hour of the Wolf, and their defenses were much weaker at night than during the day.
Ser Marq could not attend the activities, but a bold knight found his way to Bluebeard's quarters.
"The West River gate, the drawbridge, and the inner gate, that door leads to the arch bridge." Bluebeard was thorough in his planning. They couldn't take all the gates, only open the drawbridge first. "First, open the drawbridge. The Lord's men will attack the central main bridge."
"But what about our Ser Marq?" The House Piper man couldn't help but ask.
"The situation is urgent. Ser Marq should be clever. Act quickly."
The moon was low, all was silent. The Seaguard taxi soldiers packed their banners, silently gliding their boats. Only the waves and the chill accompanied them.
Jason Mallister stood at the bow, feeling like a soaring falcon, ready to capture his opponent in one swift move.
The long-standing grievances between Seaguard and the Twins: Frey the Fool, Frey the Late, and Frey the Upstart. Frey's rise had encroached heavily upon the interests of Mallister.
"The Green Fork is deep and fast. When we get close, quickly get onto the bridge. Someone in the West River Keep will meet us," Earl Jason repeated in a low voice. Every boat, every squad of warriors understood. They were the best taxi soldiers in the water, this was Seaguard's grand gamble.
The small boats swiftly cut through the water, leaving ripples. House Frey's defenses were lax at this time. Everyone knew that northerners had no navy, no boats. Their river defenses were indeed occasionally slack.
Small catapults slowly moved through the forest on the west bank of the Twins. For Lords, without forests, there could be no hunting or display of knightly virtues. But such a quiet forest and the flow of the river provided excellent cover for the small catapults. Behind the catapults, soldiers pushed oil barrels and boulders as large as heads.
Ser Patrik supervised Seaguard's operation. All five of Seaguard's small catapults were the family's limit. He wore indigo-blue armor, inlaid with silver, and his helmet was adorned with eagle wings, just like his father, Jason. This battle was for Seaguard's future, to utterly destroy House Frey's pride.
Gendry rode at the front with Ser Barristan, Anguy, Bronze Yohn, and Ser Boros, with the taxi soldiers behind them already arrayed. Gendry's helmet bore a pair of outward-leaping animal figures: a leaping black Iron Hammer crowned stag, and a red Three Dragons with spread wings, like a pair of forked antlers, black and red.
Behind them were the silent knights: five hundred Gold Cloak Household Knights, two thousand Crab Claw cavalry (a small portion remained in Riverrun), one thousand Vale cavalry, and five hundred Seaguard cavalry who would go with them, with five hundred remaining to guard the catapults.
Longspears like a forest, banners like fire, elites like tigers; all the soldiers' faces showed proud and unyielding expressions, the spirit only a victorious army possesses. Their task was to follow their Commander's will, take the Twins, and achieve victory. Their eyes burned with fire, with fervor, with a craving for victory.
The warhorses' hooves were wrapped, and their mouths were muffled. Moonlight shone on the forest and hills, and the armor glowed faintly. House Frey was probably all asleep. Marquess Walder was overjoyed by Lord Hoster's failure and pleas—this was the old man's humiliation.
Bluebeard had his men don the grey robes assigned today and began to charge towards the outer city gate. They hadn't been given House Frey's blue robes; today they'd only managed to get a robe, but these were enough.
"Shoot fire, shoot fire and those city guards!"
"What are you doing?" The drawbridge Commander was stunned, only to see the Bluebeard Mercenary, wrapped in a grey robe, smile at him and then approach. The Commander was puzzled until he saw the bright dagger.
"Enem—enemy attack!" But his words were not as fast as the dagger, and he was directly killed, his mouth covered.
"Move!" The blue robes' men also began to shed their disguises: short axes, crossbows, and short swords.
"Boom!" Suddenly, a beam of light illuminated the quiet night sky.
Then came the sound of something collapsing with a crash. The Twins' drawbridge suddenly fell again.
"Charge!"
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