With the help of a professional soldier like Ser Barristan, the efficiency of recruit selection and training at Harrenhal far exceeded anything in the past.
Roman: "Ser Barristan, with your help, I can focus my energy on construction!"
Ser Barristan was amazed by Roman's coordination skills and Fili's expertise in logistics.
At first, he thought the young girl Fili was just Roman's personal maid, but he didn't expect her to handle intelligence gathering and logistics coordination simultaneously.
Fili's physical fitness was also far beyond that of an ordinary person; when it came to pure strength, Ser Barristan felt that most normal humans were no match for her.
However, Fili always appeared timid, and orders were usually passed down by her subordinates, so Ser Barristan had never imagined she played such an important role.
Ser Barristan: "This Harrenhal is full of hidden talents. On the surface, there is Lord Roman, and behind the scenes, there is Fili and a group of ministers, plus a large number of maesters serving Harrenhal. By the gods, I finally understand where other nobles fall short compared to Roman."
Old Barristan trained another 6,000 new recruits in the heartland of the Hean Family. These recruits were paired with veterans to garrison various fortresses and castles, familiarizing themselves with the battlefield environment while training.
Meanwhile, the true elite of Harrenhal could be freed up to start attacking the Lannister army.
Beside the Gods Eye, 800 Ironmen and over 1,000 Light Cavalry of Harrenhal assembled together. Ser Barristan and Roman decided to use a "blitzkrieg" tactic, charging directly to Jaime's rear to rendezvous with Robb and attack from both sides.
This was a surprise attack; the cavalry carried only a few days' worth of rations and no heavy baggage, aiming purely for speed.
First, scouts and ravens conducted reconnaissance together. Every outpost they encountered was quickly eliminated, and at the same time, Roman positioned sharpshooters from the army to intercept enemy ravens, preventing Tywin from receiving news.
Roman led the way; whenever ravens or scouts located an outpost, Roman would fly over directly and burn the cages and soldiers on the spot.
En route, the team led by Ser Barristan encountered a Lannister cavalry patrol. As soon as they met, the Ironmen ran them through.
At this moment, Jaime did not know that disaster was imminent. He was currently hunting down guerrilla fighters in the Riverlands to prevent his supply lines from being heavily damaged.
Robb, meanwhile, had quickly moved his cavalry unit from the north into the Whispering Wood. As soon as he arrived, he received a raven from Fili.
"Robb Stark, Roman Rivers and Ser Barristan are coming from the south with a cavalry unit. They asked me to remind you to pay attention to Jaime's movements and it would be best to capture Jaime directly as a hostage."
The Young Wolf was amazed that even "Bold" Ser Barristan had come to the battlefield. He asked the raven:
"Then, may I ask how many troops Ser Roman has brought?"
Raven: "Over 2,000 cavalry, and himself."
Robb frowned. He felt that even with Roman himself, it was impossible to break through Tywin's defensive line with so few soldiers. However, since the other party had come to help, he didn't intend to be rude, so he just had the raven convey his gratitude to Roman and Ser Barristan.
When the raven returned to Roman, he and Ser Barristan had already fought their way near Riverrun, preparing to cross the river to attack Jaime.
After hearing Robb's reply, Ser Barristan smiled and said: "Lord Eddard's eldest son has some talent in military affairs, but his grasp of the political situation is lacking."
"Lord Roman, we need to cross the river quickly to support the Northern army; only then can we ensure everything goes without a hitch."
Roman naturally understood this principle. Based on intelligence obtained from frontline scouting, he found a shallow river mouth, which was currently controlled by Lannister soldiers.
Roman flew close to the nearby woods to approach the crossing, then launched an attack.
In the eyes of the Lannister soldiers, Roman appeared as if he had suddenly flown out of the woods, and they immediately panicked.
The magic dragon of Harrenhal smashed two Magic Missiles into their faces, and immediately after, Roman landed, knocking a fleeing cavalryman and his horse away with a single hammer blow.
"All of you, kneel! Surrender and you shall not be killed!"
Following Roman's roar, the Lannister soldiers saw the dragon wings and dragon horns on Roman, and they immediately stood there at a loss.
Seeing that these men did not surrender, Roman guessed that they were probably elites in Tywin's hands, and a cruel smile curled on his lips.
Since the other party had made their choice, he would have to see what they were made of.
Roman stopped wasting words. His feet and wings exerted force simultaneously, and he rushed in front of the Lannister soldiers at a speed they could not react to.
Sweep!
With just one strike, the leading soldier and his armor turned into a pile of twisted scrap.
Subsequently, two pillars of fire erupted from Roman's palms, igniting the Lannister soldiers. Before they even had a chance to react, the White Flame burned through their internal organs.
By the time Ser Barristan arrived, only debris remained on the ground, which surprised him at the swiftness of Roman's actions.
The Harrenhal cavalry quickly dismounted, cut down trees from the nearby woods to process into simple makeshift bridges, used them to transport men and horses across the river, and then advanced at full speed toward the Whispering Wood.
At this time, Jaime had already encountered Robb's vanguard. Robb had his troops carry the banners of House Tully, and Jaime, mistaking them for stragglers from the Riverlands, led most of his cavalry out of camp to pursue them.
But Robb had already set up an encirclement net waiting for him. The Whispering Wood was located in a river valley, and the armies of the North and the Twins relied on the woods for concealment.
When Jaime led his team to the river valley, the cavalry in the woods suddenly charged out, catching Jaime off guard.
"Lord Jaime, we are surrounded! Please break out quickly, we will cover the rear!"
The adjutant shouted for Jaime to retreat, but looking at the cavalry surrounding from the rear, Jaime knew there was no hope of turning the tide.
The kingslayer suddenly drew his longsword and shouted to his personal guards: "We are already surrounded. Now there is only one way out, and that is to capture Robb! Everyone, charge with me!"
Jaime's personal guards were moved by his courage and immediately recovered from their panic. Under Jaime's command, they formed a charge formation and began to attack Robb.
The guards around Robb saw this scene and rushed to block in front of Robb, but Jaime's offensive was extremely strong. Even though the Northern soldiers resisted desperately, they were still pushed through by Jaime and his men until they were right in front of Robb.
"Only a few dozen meters left! As long as I catch this wolf pup, I'll be saved!"
At this moment, the two Karstark brothers had already drawn their longswords, ready to engage the enemy. Watching Jaime charge over, they felt a mix of terror and anticipation, because they were about to duel with the legendary knight, Jaime Lannister!
But things did not develop as they had imagined. A whistling sound came, and then several bright white spheres appeared in the sky.
"What is happening?"
Just as everyone was confused, those bright white spheres crashed straight from the sky into Jaime's team.
White Flame and thunder, accompanied by a loud noise and a shockwave, engulfed the Lannister soldiers. Jaime himself was hit by the shockwave, as if struck in the chest by a wild bull.
Jaime's warhorse fell first, throwing him into the wet, soft mud.
Subsequently, the Lannister soldiers let out miserable screams. The White Flame had invaded their bodies, and they burned from the inside out.
A few heroic Lannister personal guards tried to help Jaime up, but an iron boot descended from the sky, stepping on a guard's head and pressing it down into the ground.
This Lannister guard's head exploded like a melon, with red and white matter splattering everywhere. Robb and the others looked closely, and the newcomer was none other than Roman.
Before the Northerners could react, Roman had already smashed the heads of the surrounding miscellaneous soldiers with a few hammer blows, then turned to look at Jaime.
"kingslayer Jaime Lannister, this is not the first time you have been my enemy. While I still have patience, surrender, otherwise, only torture awaits you."
After hearing this, Jaime struggled to climb up from the ground. He raised his longsword, still wanting to duel with Roman.
Roman saw that Jaime could barely stand, yet he still wanted to continue resisting, so he put down his great hammer, and instead picked up a longsword from the ground to confront Jaime.
And this scene, in Jaime's eyes, was a complete insult to him. He felt that Roman abandoning his strength to duel with him was just to humiliate him.
Immediately, the kingslayer rushed towards Roman, but he soon found something wrong. His sword strikes hit Roman like a storm, but the opponent could always perfectly block, parry, and then counterattack.
Under Roman's continuous offensive, Jaime's stamina was quickly exhausted. He was anxious, desperately wanting to find a way to break the deadlock.
Subsequently, Jaime made an absolutely wrong choice—he pulled out a dagger, preparing to throw it at Robb.
The Northerners were originally excitedly watching the show, but Jaime's move took them by surprise, and everyone hurriedly protected Robb.
But the attack they imagined did not come. Everyone only saw a flash of white light, and then Jaime's right hand, clutching the dagger, flew into the air.
Jaime: "Urgh! Ah, ah... ah!!!"
The kingslayer knelt on the ground, howling while clutching his bleeding severed arm, with the grim-faced Roman beside him.
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