The elite Lannister raiders—who had spent weeks mercilessly burning, killing, and looting their way through the Riverlands under Tywin's absolute orders—were finally caught in Roman's terrifying net.
In a frantic attempt to pillage the massive, decentralized region as quickly as possible, and because the western campaign against the Tully forces had proceeded flawlessly for so long, Tywin's commanders had entirely abandoned strict, large-scale military formations. Instead, they had broken the primary host down into thousands of small, highly mobile raiding parties, aggressively dispatching them to burn and pillage independently.
By executing this arrogant, decentralized maneuver, the Westerlands army struck absolute, catastrophic gold for the Harrenhal Vanguard.
Against a typical, highly isolated Lannister raiding party, Harrenhal's specialized Light Cavalry was vastly more than capable of completely annihilating them.
However, if the Vanguard scouts actively encountered a heavily equipped, highly coordinated Lannister detachment, Roman's commanders executed a flawless, terrifying tactical protocol. First, the Harrenhal Light Cavalry would execute a ruthless, high-speed rotation of archery harassment, entirely pinning the Lannister forces down and completely denying them any opportunity to retreat. Then, once the heavily armored Vanguard Ironmen finally arrived, the combined cavalry would execute a synchronized, devastating heavy charge, violently slaughtering the isolated lions in a single stroke.
The once-invincible Lannister army, which had so effortlessly crushed Edmure Tully, was instantly routed and violently broken at the mere sight of Harrenhal's terrifying steel. From that moment on, whenever the arrogant Westerlands soldiers saw the gleaming, flawless silver plate armor of House Whent, they instinctively threw down their stolen loot and ran for their lives, entirely regardless of the enemy's actual numbers.
The Gods Eye. Lake Harbor.
A small, terrified detachment of Lannister scouts was sprinting frantically down the muddy, rutted road they had just utilized to pillage a local farming village.
It had violently rained several days prior, transforming the dirt roads into a deep, clinging swamp. Despite the miserable terrain, the terrified Lannister soldiers ran with absolute, desperate exertion, their heavy boots aggressively splashing thick mud entirely over their waists and armor.
Directly behind them, echoing through the damp trees, came the terrifying, rhythmic, thunderous sound of heavy warhorses rapidly closing the distance.
One of the exhausted Lannister soldiers, frantically looking back over his shoulder, tripped heavily over an exposed root and violently face-planted directly into a massive mud puddle.
As he desperately scrambled to his feet, coughing up dirty water, he suddenly realized the massive puddle in front of him was entirely filled with thick, congealed arterial blood. The sickening, metallic stench of fresh blood perfectly mingling with the damp earth violently overwhelmed his senses, terrifying the soldier so profoundly that he frantically crab-walked backward.
But this momentary, terrified hesitation perfectly provided the advancing Vanguard cavalry with a lethal opening. By the time the Lannister soldier fully regained his footing, a massive, steel-tipped heavy lance had already violently pierced directly through his throat, lifting him completely off the ground.
As the Lannister soldier lay actively bleeding to death in the mud, his vision fading to black, he watched in absolute, paralyzed horror as a massive wedge of silver-armored Ironmen violently crashed into his fleeing comrades, effortlessly slaughtering them like cattle. In his final, agonizing moments, he profoundly regretted actively ignoring the cynical advice of a seasoned veteran who had explicitly warned him to desert the army and flee south, leading him directly to this brutal, muddy slaughter.
Across the massive, sprawling borders of the Gods Eye, these exact, highly lethal skirmishes were violently occurring every single hour. Any Lannister raider who failed to rapidly retreat to the heavily fortified central encampments met a brutal, merciless death.
Roman aggressively capitalized on Tywin's arrogant, massive dispersal of forces. He meticulously deployed his massive Vanguard cavalry to execute a terrifyingly rapid, continent-wide sweep, systematically isolating and completely annihilating Tywin's vanguard detachments across dozens of rural villages.
Only a pathetic handful of Lannister soldiers were intentionally spared from the slaughter. They were heavily shackled by the Harrenhal infantry and forcefully dragged directly before Lord Roman.
Roman absolutely refused to even look at the terrified, bleeding prisoners. He casually waved his gauntleted hand and issued a cold directive to his captains.
"Violently strip them of their armor and throw them directly into the newly constructed vertical ironwood shafts in the western mountains. Let these arrogant lions spend the rest of their pathetic, miserable lives exploring the dark."
"At once, Lord Roman."
Standing beside the command table, Fili excitedly reported the massive, flawless casualty ratios, her rosy cheeks beaming with sheer, undisguised administrative joy.
However, Roman's tactical mind remained entirely cold. He intimately knew these localized skirmishes were merely actively slaughtering Tywin's pathetic, sacrificial pawns. The incredibly cunning Old Lion was currently hiding in the deep forests, meticulously gathering his massive strength and actively preparing a devastating, large-scale counter-offensive.
"You have all fought brilliantly," Roman addressed his gathered Vanguard commanders. "But do not become arrogant or complacent. Tywin Lannister's primary, heavy infantry host has absolutely not yet engaged us. We have merely crushed his petty thieves and foraging scouts. The true, apocalyptic test of our steel is yet to come."
Roman aggressively pointed to the tactical map. "Maintain an absolute, constant state of high alert. The Vanguard scouts and the Apostle ravens absolutely must not cease their rotations for a single second. Furthermore, I want the Light Cavalry to actively deploy several massive, highly mobile squadrons directly into Tywin's absolute rear flank to aggressively burn the Lannister logistical supply lines. Do absolutely not let the Old Lion sleep peacefully!"
A flurry of massive, highly coordinated military directives was instantly issued. The elite Harrenhal horse archers launched devastating, high-speed guerrilla strikes into the Lannister rear, aggressively starving Tywin's supply chains, while the massive Vanguard heavy infantry slowly, methodically advanced westward, violently driving the Lannister army back while simultaneously absorbing the shattered Riverlands territories into House Whent's sovereign empire.
Roman and Fili rode their warhorses directly into a massive, heavily burned port situated directly on the shores of the Gods Eye. This had originally been a massive, thriving inland river hub. Roman remembered actively stopping here to purchase fresh supplies years ago while escorting his massive glass shipments to King's Landing. Back then, the massive docks had been completely overflowing with wealthy merchant ships, and the surrounding towns were incredibly prosperous.
Tywin Lannister had brutally, systematically looted the massive port, completely destroying the heavy docks, violently burning down the surrounding granaries and rich farmland, and forcefully rendering nine out of ten local residents entirely homeless.
After his Vanguard meticulously cleared out the remaining Lannister stragglers, Roman immediately initiated a massive logistical operation. He actively transferred thousands of highly skilled civilian engineers and heavily subsidized laborers directly from Harrenhal's core territories to rapidly construct massive stone blockhouses, insulated winter housing, and heavily fortified watchtowers, instantly resuming agricultural and industrial production to actively supply the advancing Vanguard.
"Fili," Roman commanded, surveying the ashes. "If we genuinely intend to permanently control these highly lucrative, fertile territories, we absolutely must violently expel Tywin Lannister's primary host from this region entirely. Utilize the Apostle ravens to conduct a massive, low-altitude sweep. Find his central encampment. We absolutely must heavily bleed Tywin's forces before he manages to launch a coordinated attack."
The young woman offered a sharp, military nod and instantly rushed off to execute Roman's complex reconnaissance orders, while Tywin Lannister was actively, aggressively adjusting his grand strategy.
The Western Riverlands. The Lannister Encampment.
Deep within the dense, heavily fortified forests of the western Riverlands, Tywin Lannister held a grim, highly tense war council with his senior Westerlands generals.
"Roman Rivers officially possesses an absolute, terrifying reconnaissance advantage that we simply cannot match," Tywin stated coldly, staring at the war map. "Those demonic, highly intelligent ravens are constantly, flawlessly hovering over our heads. Attempting to execute a stealthy, tactical ambush is entirely, fundamentally impossible. Our absolute only viable path to victory is to aggressively consolidate our massive numbers and launch a devastating, frontal assault directly into his lines. Tell me, exactly where should we strike next?"
Tywin was incredibly, highly wary of Roman's legendary core of 8,000 elite, heavily armored regular troops. However, his arrogant, prideful Westerlands generals fundamentally did not care. They absolutely refused to take Harrenhal seriously. They genuinely believed that Roman had only miraculously defeated the Crownlands coalition at Antlers simply because the Crownlands lords were pathetic, poorly equipped cowards.
Ultimately, the arrogant war council officially decided to violently force a pitched battle directly near a massive, partially constructed stone stronghold that Roman's engineers were actively building, which simultaneously served as a highly strategic logistical transportation hub.
The massive Lannister host made absolutely zero attempt to conceal their heavy troop movements. Upon receiving the raven reports, Roman immediately realized that Tywin intimately understood exactly how impossible it was to hide from Fili's aerial network, and was actively inviting an open battle.
Tywin had aggressively consolidated a massive, highly elite force of eight thousand heavy infantry and heavy cavalry, marching them straight toward Roman's primary front lines, while heavily scattering his remaining, expendable levies to continuously harass Harrenhal's peripheral borders.
Tywin had brilliantly, cynically calculated that Roman absolutely would not withdraw his Vanguard to protect the borders, simply because the Dragon Lord was intensely obsessed with permanently securing the newly annexed land.
Listening to the highly detailed scout report in his command tent, Roman could not help but throw his head back and laugh loudly.
"Since the Old Lion actively wishes to show me such profound, arrogant disrespect by marching directly at my throat, I absolutely cannot disappoint him," Roman smirked, his blue eyes flashing dangerously. "Gather exactly one thousand heavy cavalry and one thousand heavy infantry. We are going to aggressively meet the mighty Lord Tywin on the field!"
Roman personally led the highly elite, mobile detachment. He first utilized the Apostle ravens to meticulously track Tywin's exact marching route, and then aggressively occupied a massive, highly advantageous defensive choke point positioned directly along the Lannister army's inevitable path.
Because Roman actively possessed significantly fewer troops for this specific engagement, he strictly ordered his infantry to heavily occupy the steep, high ground, intentionally deploying his Light Cavalry to aggressively harass the advancing Lannister vanguard and violently lure them into a foolish, uphill charge.
Simultaneously, the Vanguard engineers heavily entrenched behind the front lines violently went to work. They rapidly dug massive, concealed horse traps, erected heavy ironwood barricades, and heavily scattered tens of thousands of lethal, steel caltrops across the muddy ground.
Roman brilliantly utilized the steep, highly elevated terrain to deploy his elite crossbowmen and heavy archers directly along the slopes, granting every single archer a flawless, unobstructed view of the enemy's movements, massively increasing their lethal range and armor-piercing kinetic accuracy.
When the massive Lannister host of eight thousand men finally arrived at the front lines, they were deeply shocked to discover that Harrenhal's heavily armored Vanguard had already flawlessly occupied the absolute high ground, completely controlling the only viable road forward. If they did not successfully smash through this heavily fortified blockade, the massive Lannister army would be violently forced to march directly into the deadly, heavily flooded river networks of the southern Trident.
But when the highly arrogant, prideful Westerlands commanders laid eyes on the relatively small Harrenhal force, they absolutely did not hesitate for a single second. They aggressively ordered a massive, full-frontal charge directly at Roman's lines.
As Tywin's absolute finest, hand-picked assault infantry, the Lannister vanguard was heavily armored in thick plate and highly trained.
Watching the massive sea of crimson and gold skillfully form tight, disciplined shield walls and aggressively press forward up the hill, Roman remained entirely calm. He intentionally held his fire, strictly ordering his heavy archers and massive siege ballistas to patiently nock their ammunition and wait.
The heavily armored Lannister infantry charged confidently up the slope.
Suddenly, they heard a terrifying, massive whooshing sound echoing from the crest of the hill. In the absolute blink of an eye, dozens of heavily armored Lannister veterans were violently, cleanly skewered and forcefully launched backward into their own ranks.
The massive, steel-tipped ballista bolts slammed into the Lannister lines a full second before the arrows hit. Following the devastating artillery strike, a massive, apocalyptic hail of heavy arrows violently darkened the sky. Because the Harrenhal archers possessed the absolute high ground, they effortlessly dictated the lethal pacing of the engagement.
Although the Lannister heavy infantry possessed excellent steel shields and were generally unafraid of standard arrows, the sheer, unrelenting kinetic force of the armor-piercing crossbow bolts and massive ballista strikes violently slamming into their formations rapidly caused the massive Lannister advance to violently falter and stagger.
Realizing their heavy infantry was being ruthlessly slaughtered without gaining a single inch of ground, the Lannister generals frantically ordered their elite heavy cavalry to aggressively charge the slopes.
But the exact moment the pride of the Westerlands cavalry violently spurred their warhorses forward, their mounts' hooves were catastrophically shredded by the thousands of lethal steel caltrops heavily concealed within the tall grass. Hundreds of massive Lannister warhorses violently collapsed, instantly snapping their legs and aggressively throwing their heavily armored riders directly into the mud, fundamentally shattering the momentum of the entire heavy charge.
"It's an ambush! The ground is heavily trapped!" a Lannister knight screamed hysterically. "Halt the charge! Pull back the reins immediately!!"
The vanguard cavalry actively recognized the lethal anomaly and frantically attempted to reign in their massive horses. However, the massive bulk of the cavalry charge following directly behind them was entirely unaware of the lethal traps. They continued aggressively charging at absolute maximum velocity, resulting in a massive, catastrophic, highly lethal collision of screaming horses and shattering steel within the Lannister ranks.
The Harrenhal engineers brilliantly seized this massive tactical opening, aggressively utilizing the heavy ballistas to violently bombard the paralyzed, highly concentrated mass of Lannister cavalry, temporarily completely halting the Westerlands offensive.
However, Tywin's highly disciplined veterans reacted brilliantly. Hundreds of knights aggressively dismounted their dying horses and, violently braving the apocalyptic hail of Vanguard arrows, frantically utilized their heavy shields to physically clear the lethal barbed wire and caltrops from the muddy slopes.
After sacrificing hundreds of elite men to secure a path, the surviving Lannister heavy cavalry aggressively re-mounted and launched a second, violent charge. However, they rapidly encountered the massive, concealed pitfall traps and the highly lethal, steel-tipped chevaux-de-frise barricades. Now actively trapped within the lethal, point-blank range of the Harrenhal halberdiers and heavy crossbows, the Lannister cavalry suffered an absolutely catastrophic, bloody slaughter.
Seeing their massive, highly elite offensive completely stalled and bleeding out on the slopes, the desperate Lannister commanders aggressively deployed their massive, fresh infantry reserves. Utilizing their sheer, overwhelming numerical superiority, the massive Lannister host finally, violently managed to smash through the first line of Harrenhal's static defenses.
But just as the victorious, heavily panting Lannister soldiers were aggressively reforming their lines to violently charge Harrenhal's final infantry squares, a series of massive, deafening warhorns violently echoed across the battlefield.
The Lannister veterans looked to their flanks in absolute, paralyzing horror as two massive, highly elite detachments of Harrenhal heavy shock cavalry violently charged directly out from behind the concealment of the surrounding hills.
Roman had brilliantly, intentionally concealed his absolute best cavalry reserves specifically for this exact moment, patiently waiting for the massive Lannister army to aggressively commit their forces and violently clump together before springing his lethal trap.
"Form defensive ranks!" a Lannister general roared frantically, his voice cracking with terror. "Do not break the shield wall! We still possess overwhelming numbers! Brace for a heavy cavalry impact!"
The highly seasoned Lannister commanders reacted with terrifying speed, aggressively ordering their surviving heavy infantry to rapidly form massive, bristling spear walls on the exposed flanks, while simultaneously commanding their remaining cavalry reserves to violently intercept the Harrenhal charge.
Standing perfectly still at the absolute apex of the hill, Roman's blue eyes violently ignited.
"The absolute perfect moment has finally arrived," Roman whispered.
Suddenly, a blinding, apocalyptic eruption of crackling white light violently illuminated the crest of the hill. A massive, superheated sphere of highly concentrated plasma aggressively shot high into the sky at supersonic speed, detonating with a deafening, terrifying roar that violently shook the earth.
This apocalyptic, magical display violently drew the terrified attention of absolutely every single soldier on the battlefield. The heavily armored Harrenhal Vanguard erupted into deafening, fanatical, bloodthirsty cheers.
As the terrified Lannister soldiers looked up, frantically wondering what demonic terror had just exploded in the clouds, Roman Rivers violently launched himself from the cliff.
As the Westerlands veterans watched a blinding, roaring comet of superheated White Flame violently plummeting directly toward their tightly packed formations, skimming just inches above the muddy ground, they suddenly, horrifyingly remembered the apocalyptic legends surrounding the Dragon of Harrenhal.
The mythological legend had finally become a terrifying, absolute reality.
Now Get The FULL AVAILABLE NOVEL at Once!
Get 40% OFF for limited time only.
@patreon.com/Authorizz/shop