Ronnet Connington SI

-Chapter 67-

-POV Raymund Connington-

Sitting on my horse, I looked straight ahead at the first army arriving from the north, the banners I could see were mainly those of House Tully, mixed with the banners of Keath, Shawney, Vance, and Mallister.

I tightened the reins of my horse to turn it around, and there I saw, at the front of the second army, the banners of Houses Vypren, Smallwood, Piper, Wayn, and many other smaller houses.

"We are surrounded," said Kevan Lannister, appearing beside me, always accompanied by his bodyguard.

"It seems indeed that we are surrounded by our enemies, but we are still in a position of strength. We have the higher ground, and they are confident. The northern army has more than 20,000 men, while the southern army has only 10,000."

"What is problematic, however, is that we had to split off 10,000 men to hold the castles and keeps we took from the Lords of the Riverlands, adding to that your brother's army, which stayed at Harrenhal to hold it, anticipating a possible attack on the Riverlands gate to cut off our supply line."

"I know we have only 27,000 soldiers and are outnumbered, but let's not forget, our army is made up of real soldiers, not crowds armed with spears trained on the road," I said.

Kevan Lannister, the Queen's uncle, slightly nodded and gave his orders to his second-in-command, the Mountain, who nodded, donned his helmet, and quickly rejoined the front of our forces.

"With him, no one will breach our rear guard. We only need to focus on defending against Blackfish's army," he said confidently.

Having personally witnessed Ser Gregor's battles, I could understand where Ser Kevan Lannister's confidence came from.

However, I wasn't as impressed by his prowess, as I had seen my brother do so much better that no man could surprise me with 'physical feats' on a battlefield.

Seeing Ser Gregor leading a detachment of 1,500 cavalry and 5,000 infantry soldiers to stop the army attacking the rear of our forces, I stopped worrying about it and stood on the cliff, giving my orders.

"Ser Kevan, order your soldiers to form three fronts of spearmen to stop the enemy's advance," I said, refraining from giving direct orders to his men out of basic courtesy and respect for his rank and position.

He nodded and I continued:

"Leave enough distance so that a cavalry unit can come to your aid if needed."

"Yes, Commander," Ser Kevan said, symbolically giving his own orders to his lieutenants before returning to me, while I used the moment to give orders to my own soldiers.

"Goldcloaks, I want you to form a protective square. You will defend this position with your lives if it proves necessary for the kingdom."

"FOR THE KINGDOM!" all my men shouted.

Very soon after the battle had begun, I smiled, appreciating the sight, as the unusual positioning of my men had forced the Tullys to split their infantry into three to face the three blocks of 5,000 separated soldiers ready to welcome them.

'I would have preferred them to throw themselves headlong into the battle so I could break them with a cavalry charge that would have destroyed the morale of these peasants,' I thought, watching the five Lannister cavalry squads eager to engage the enemy.

But even as they correctly sniffed out the first trap, the Tullys could not imagine the surprise I had prepared for them, for within the blocks of 5,000 men, crossbowmen were hidden.

It didn't take long to feel that the Tully army could do nothing to turn the tide, as little by little, their soldiers' numbers dwindled, while on the other side, Ser Gregor Clegane, by his imposing and terrifying presence to his enemies, was successfully defeating the Tully vassals.

Little by little, the Tullys, losing more and more men, retreated, and I didn't relent, as I ordered the pursuit of their retreat.

The battle continued for several kilometers, allowing them time to regroup and reform their ranks, but not enough time to distance themselves from us. In the distance, I heard a horn that made me smile—the distinctive horn of House Connington.

---

-POV Gregor Clegane-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I screamed, smashing my sword with all my strength on a wretched peasant armed with a simple spear and wearing a pathetic, tattered leather armor that my sword had no trouble tearing apart.

I removed my helmet, seeing them all flee, terrified in front of me, and I shouted to my men:

"I DON'T WANT TO SEE A SINGLE ONE OF THEM ALIVE! DID YOU HEAR ME? THE KING DOESN'T WANT TO SEE A SINGLE ONE OF THESE WRETCHED DOGS ALIVE BY THE END OF THIS BATTLE, SO KILL THEM ALL!"

Hearing me, my men shouted twice as loud and continued to chase the army of peasants led by the Pipers, now in full rout, with twice the intensity.

"Pl… Please," said a man holding his guts while looking at me as if I were going to spare him.

'You're already dead, fool,' I thought, saying nothing, merely plunging my sword into his throat, killing him instantly.

My blood-stained armor was a testament to the rage and difficulty of this fight, but once again, everyone I encountered on this battlefield had not survived.

I was about to carry out the second mission that Lord Tywin had…

'Assigned to me,' I thought, feeling a sharp pain in my throat.

I tried to move my neck, but I couldn't, and as I looked down, I saw an arrow.

I searched for the shooter, and what I saw chilled my blood for the first time in my life.

I was terrif...