Brienne waved the swamp marigold banner from side to side, and the sound of the Kleber's war horn immediately rang out, a deep and long call.
The Cley Cerwyn longbowmen quickly inserted the pointed wooden stakes they carried into the ground in front of their formation; from afar, the Kleber's army seemed to be wriggling.
Greene Kleber personally took the initiative to blow the war horn.
The sounding of the war horn signaled the start of battle; the Cley Cerwyn longbowmen, in a straightforward manner, arranged dense rows of palisades in front of their formation, a skill they had trained for a month and were very proficient at.
In contrast, the Valley Knight's army still needed to prepare for the charge; although time was not abundant, it was precious for the Cley Cerwyn longbowmen.
Lord Green rode slowly through the wheat field, but why had two consecutive days of heavy rain made the ground so soft at this moment?
Lord Green had simply used his nearly 2,000 strong oxen to gratuitously plow all the wheat fields near Seagull Town; this act earned him praise from the 'farmers' of Seagull Town, big and small, who called him a generous and benevolent lord.
The wheat field sandwiched between the Kleber's army and the Valley Knight's army was one such field, or rather… it was just one of the battlefields prepared in advance by the cunning Lord Green.
The news that Lord Green had killed a Valley Knight with a single spear thrust in front of the formation spread through the Kleber's army, immediately boosting the soldiers' morale.
The simple soldiers of the Crab Claw Peninsula were more convinced by powerful warriors.
When Lord Green returned to the formation and his horse trotted through, the surrounding soldiers punched their fists against their chests, showing their respect and loyalty to their lord.
Lord Green passed through with a serious expression; his gentleness was reserved for warriors who could approach him, while the soldiers standing far away only needed to see their lord's power and mystery.
Everything that needed to be prepared had been completed; Lord Green no longer needed to repeat his instructions, leaving the rest to his warriors.
The Kleber's war horn sounded, its long call like the cold wind from the north. Bronze Yohn glanced at Ser Harlan, who was almost disfigured on the ground, and urged his horse to gallop towards his own formation.
Bronze Yohn had already discovered Lord Green's "little tricks"; this feeling of being passive not only made him wary but also filled him with rage.
The Earl of Crab Claw Peninsula had already shown him through his actions that today's battle was not a grand tourney but a fight to the death.
"Two men, bring Ser Harlan back." This was Bronze Yohn's first command upon returning to the formation.
Bronze Yohn's calm words made the Valley Knight's anger flare up again, burning fiercely.
Before, it was mostly indignation at feeling provoked by the wildling Earl, but now only the enemy's blood could quell their surging fury.
"Gentlemen, let's not keep our opponents waiting impatiently."
Under Bronze Yohn's command, the enraged 20,000-plus Valley Knights accelerated their preparations for battle.
Over 1,000 full plate armored knights were gathering into a wedge formation; most of them wore family heirloom armor, representing only a small fraction of the Valley Knights under the rule of the Arryn Family, as high as honor itself.
The Valley Knight's armor gleamed in the morning light, and behind them were over 500 knightly squires in breastplates and chainmail, also part of the vanguard.
The loud war horn of the Valley Knight's sounded, a series of long and short blasts.
Immediately following Ser Symon Templeton, the vanguard commander's order, over 1,500 Valley Knights slowly advanced.
The war horn of the Valley Knight's sounded again, a series of long and short blasts.
When the Valley Knights led by Ser Symon Templeton were about 500 yards from the Kleber's army, over 3,000 Valley Knights led by Earl Bennard Belmore also began to leave the Valley Knight's main formation.
"Damn it!" Ser Symon Templeton cursed.
After the cavalry set off, he noticed during their advance that the closer they got to the enemy, the softer the ground became, making it harder for their horses to move and difficult to maintain a dense formation… This was not only a result of the Valley Knight's lack of training but also related to the condition of the battlefield ground.
Earl Bennard Belmore, following behind, was forced to advance through the muddy ground trampled by the vanguard cavalry led by Ser Symon Templeton.
The distance of 250 to 300 yards was roughly the effective range of the Clayber Longbow, but Impa, standing at the very front of the formation, had not given the order to fire arrows.
When the distance approached 200 yards, Impa gave the order to draw bows, and under the command of the Kleber's myriad centurions, three-hundred-men commanders, centurions, thirty-men commanders, and ten-men commanders, over 5,000 Cley Cerwyn longbowmen slowly drew their bowstrings to full.
Approximately 180 yards… Ser Symon Templeton's horse swept past an arrow stuck in the ground; its fletching was very conspicuous, being one of the many pre-shot aiming arrows from the Kleber's archers.
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
The Valley Knights saw a large "dark cloud" suddenly rise from the Kleber's formation.
Immediately after, a rapid and fierce rain of arrows descended from the sky.
Clang, clang, clang… Hiss, hiss, hiss… Startled warhorses neighed and struggled madly, losing control, and the Valley Knights were instantly thrown from their horses.
Another large cloud of arrows rose from the Kleber's formation; after reaching a height of about 30 yards, they fell at an even steeper angle into the chaotic Valley Knights.
Because the ground was too soft, most of the wooden stakes had sunk in, making them very sturdy… Some terrified warhorses struggled to charge forward, only to be impaled head-on on the stakes.
As if blessed by the gods, Ser Symon Templeton's tall warhorse allowed him to dodge the Kleber's arrow rain… but unfortunately, his warhorse suddenly crashed into a wooden stake, sending him flying straight from the saddle to land near "little" Rena.
Before Ser Symon Templeton could regain consciousness, Rena's Kleber short sword plunged into a gap in his armor, taking his life.
The startled warhorses scattered, crashing into Earl Bennard Belmore's still relatively orderly cavalry formation.
"Hold steady! Hold steady!" Earl Belmore roared.
Wounded and frightened horses charged wildly through Ser Templeton's ranks, and confusion spread like a wave through the 3,000 cavalrymen.
At this point, they were over 100 yards from the dismounted vanguard cavalry and over 300 yards from the Kleber's archers… The battle was unfavorable, but the proud Valley Knights would never retreat before wildlings!
Immediately, Earl Bennard Belmore gave the order to dismount and advance.
Over 2,000 plate-armored knights in the ranks discarded their lances and dismounted to advance under Earl Bennard Belmore's command, with nearly a thousand knightly squires following closely behind them.
Swish, swish, swish… The Valley Knights, now heavy infantry, endured wave after wave of Kleber's arrow rain, trudging with difficulty across the ground that had become a large mud pit.
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