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"Advance!"
The infantry commander on Winterfell's right wing had no reason to pass up the chance to strike an enemy already at a disadvantage, and he gave the order without hesitation.
In the infantry formation on the right, the shield bearers in the front line received the command and immediately raised their shields as they turned sideways. From a distance, the formation looked like a set of blinds opening sideways.
From behind them came groups of Winterfell soldiers armed with small round shields and one-handed swords.
Their eyes burned with excitement, full of fighting spirit. After all, those fallen riders a few yards ahead, still struggling to get back up, looked like easy battle honors dropped right in front of them.
"Horse-tripping lines... just a few iron chains were enough to wipe out more than two hundred cavalrymen. I really do like Robb's dishonorable methods!
Everything was part of his plan. Has he really grown this much already?
He really is terrifying!"
Looking at the battlefield on the right wing, where the outcome was no longer in doubt, Theon felt a complicated emotion toward Robb, a mixture of admiration and a trace of fear.
On the charge route of the left-wing cavalry, Locke, who had regrouped with several unhorsed riders lucky enough to survive, had already seen the destruction of the right-wing cavalry.
Now, almost nothing remained of the left-wing cavalry. The heavy cavalry in the center still had more than half its men alive, but the enemy spearmen had them firmly pinned in place, holding them there with no regard for their own lives.
There was still hope!
Locke's gaze fell on the three thousand infantry advancing behind him.
If House Bolton's infantry could take over the fight against Winterfell's infantry and free the heavy cavalry from that entanglement, then that force, still with more than half its strength intact, would remain House Bolton's deadliest trump card.
"Let's regroup with the infantry."
After quickly judging the battlefield, Locke immediately spoke to the few surviving riders at his side.
Their horses were already corpses on the ground, so all they could do was run on foot toward the infantry formation.
Seeing the House Bolton soldiers drawing closer, a relieved smile appeared on Locke's face.
Thud thud thud!
Then a sound he knew all too well reached his ears, the thunder of hooves made by a thousand riders galloping together.
His smile froze.
Because House Bolton could no longer field a cavalry force that large. Even if Ramsay had arrived in time, his few hundred riders could never have produced a rumble like that.
Behind the Bolton infantry formation appeared a cavalry force of at least two thousand men, carrying the direwolf banner and charging straight at them.
"Impossible! I sent out scouting riders to search the area.
How can there be so much cavalry appearing behind us?
Where were they hiding?"
...
A little earlier...
"They never would have imagined that we had been hiding right behind them the whole time!"
Standing behind the slope of a hill, Robb looked into the distance at Locke's force, which was no longer concealing its marching tracks and was advancing at full speed. With a faint smile, he spoke to Lord Rickard beside him.
"Lord Robb, your wisdom is like the Wall, something to be in awe of!"
Some time earlier, when he had seen Robb crawl out of a wagon carrying timber, Lord Rickard had been completely stunned. But after witnessing all the methods he had used over the past few days, he had already been thoroughly convinced. At that moment, his praise was sincere.
"Lord Rickard, you are too kind. In truth, all of this is Bloodwind's doing!"
Robb replied with a smile before continuing:
"House Bolton's scouting riders cannot compare to him in sight, speed, or endurance. All I had to do was let him shadow their scouts from a distance and bring back their positions, and that allowed us to stay hidden in their blind spot the entire time.
That's why their scouting riders were useless against us. Of course, this is not a method others can copy."
"Lord Robb, you do not need to be so modest either. From the very beginning, this entire war was part of your plan from the beginning. You only needed me to serve as an obvious target to draw their attention."
During this time, Lord Rickard had also come to understand many things, and he continued:
"You had me lead the four thousand militiamen I gathered to draw all of the Dreadfort's attention. In truth, Winterfell's elite warriors had already set out earlier and hidden themselves in the forests near the castle.
Then, using the supply wagons, the soldiers were transported day after day into the extra tents that had been prepared in advance.
House Bolton's scouting riders kept their eyes fixed ahead the whole time and never imagined that you were right under their noses."
"Beneath the candlestick, where the candlelight cannot reach, is where the darkness is deepest and where it is easiest to hide."
After hearing the lord's explanation, Robb summed it up with a smile.
"Simple, but profound."
"You praise me too much, my lord. By the way, that militiaman Trogg yesterday seemed quite capable to me. After this battle, I intend to bring him to Winterfell."
"Indeed, he can be considered a rather capable commander. Lord Robb, that is... the signal has arrived!"
In truth, Rickard did not need to remind him. The eye-catching signal smoke could be seen by practically everyone.
With his eyes fixed on the smoke, Robb drew the longsword from his saddle, pointed it forward, and shouted:
"Attack!"
His horse was already at full speed, and even through his helmet Robb could hear the wind rushing past his ears. Beside him, Bloodwind, already almost the size of a warhorse, ran as fast as the wind itself.
In a battle between armies on that scale, Robb had not brought Nymeria or Lady onto the battlefield.
The two were still growing, and their fighting ability was not yet enough. In the chaos of a battle that large, it would be easy for them to die from some accident.
At that moment, Robb was at the center of a charging formation made up of one thousand four hundred Winterfell riders and six hundred Karstark riders.
This time, he was not leading the attack from the front line.
At the front was Smalljon, leading the lancers. Behind him came Robb and Edd, leading the light cavalry. Farther behind was Lord Rickard, leading the Karstark riders, along with Winterfell's mounted archers.
In Westeros, a warrior's individual valor was very important, but proper tactics and strategy mattered as well.
The battle for the siege of the Dreadfort had shifted several times. When Locke's force launched its attack, the allied army was caught with enemies in front and behind.
But after Winterfell's elite infantry appeared and managed to stop them, locking them in battle, once Robb's force charged in, it was Locke's force that found itself caught with enemies in front and behind.
It was like a layered sandwich.
Hm, Locke's force, now serving as the filling, certainly would not like that comparison.
In the blink of an eye, Winterfell's cavalry was already about to catch up to Locke's infantry, which was advancing at a run.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As soon as they entered the range of Winterfell's mounted archers, the riders in the rear drew their bows and fired a volley.
The sudden appearance of a cavalry force behind them clearly caught those infantrymen off guard, and their formation began to break apart.
The sudden rain of arrows made that disorder spread even faster.
In Locke's formation, the shield bearers had originally been in front, while the rear was made up of regular infantry.
Even under normal conditions, a force of several thousand men could not quickly swap the shield bearers in front with the soldiers in the rear while still keeping their formation intact.
Much less after being hit by a rain of arrows from Winterfell's mounted archers.
In an instant, those soldiers became as disorganized as ants from a disturbed nest.
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