Lucerys was not Jacaerys after all; after capturing Lys, he didn't know what to do.
Moreover, his heart was still a bit too soft, completely failing to adopt Duke Forrest's suggestion of massacring the city.
Large numbers of civilians who escaped Lys during the chaos spread the news of Lys's fall throughout the other Free Cities.
Compared to the Disputed Lands, which had never belonged solely to anyone, the news of Lys's fall shocked the other city-states.
Jacaerys had destroyed Tyrosh before, and now he had occupied Myr and Lys.
This was no longer simply fighting for revenge; it was completely the posture of wanting to swallow the entire Essos whole.
Therefore, the smart people among the remaining Free Cities immediately reacted and began to consider forming an alliance.
But the most terrified were undoubtedly Volantis, who were mortal enemies with Jacaerys.
With Lys, their 'lips', gone, they, the 'teeth', immediately felt a bone-piercing chill.
After hearing that the Westeros army could transport soldiers by air, the Archons of Volantis discussed and finally decided to take proactive measures.
East of the Disputed Lands, at a vital transportation route about ten days' ride from Grus.
The terrain in this area was relatively flat, with hills and forests surrounding it.
A Volantis army of about four to five thousand men was hidden behind the hills and in the forest of this vital route.
From the roaring tiger head insignia on their bodies, it was clear that this group of Volantis soldiers belonged to the Tiger Party.
Clatter clatter clatter!
A sound of hooves came, and a force of nearly a hundred Westeros cavalry appeared in the distance west of the route.
The Commander in charge of this Tiger Party army looked at the group of prey about to enter the ambush, pondered slightly, and then ordered the attendant beside him: "This is the enemy's scout cavalry unit. It seems they are very cautious!
But it doesn't matter!
Notify our cavalry unit to sortie and surround them after the ranged attack is finished.
Don't kill them all; it's best to drive them towards our direction and trap them.
The other units, hide well for me! Wait until they attract the bigger fish behind them before we encircle and annihilate them!"
"As you command!"
Clatter clatter clatter!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
This Frey Family cavalry unit, flying the twin towers banner, galloped along the road, completely unaware.
Suddenly, at least dozens of heavy stones the size of heads came whistling from behind a hill to the left and front of the road.
"Enemy attack, scatter everyone!"
Because scout cavalry is meant for better reconnaissance, this Frey Family cavalry unit's riding formation was originally quite spread out.
Coupled with Commander Koma Frey's extremely quick reaction and loud shout, these nearly a hundred Frey Family cavalry immediately pulled their reins and scattered in all directions.
Thud, thud, thud!
Most of the stones fell heavily to the ground, creating numerous deep pits.
A small portion of the stones, however, hit their targets squarely.
Crunch!
Whether it was Frey Family cavalry or warhorses, anyone hit by the heavy stones could not escape the fate of broken bones and death.
Blood splattered and bodies accumulated at this vital route, announcing the start of this ambush!
Swish swish swish!
Clatter clatter clatter!
Following the stone attacks was a rain of arrows shot from the left and front, and enemy cavalry pouring out like a tide from the forest to the right and rear.
Damn it! I was too careless!
Koma looked at his retreat path, which was rapidly cut off by enemy cavalry, his face ashen, and couldn't help but blame himself for his carelessness.
Originally, before setting off for Essos, Duke Forrest had repeatedly instructed him, as a scout cavalryman, to thoroughly investigate the surrounding terrain and ensure there were no ambushes before proceeding.
Before this, Koma had always followed Duke Forrest's instructions, conducting carpet-like reconnaissance before every battle.
But due to repeated victories in the Disputed Lands, and having personally witnessed Your Majesty Jacaerys and his Dragon display great power as if a god had descended from heaven.
His complacency gradually swelled, after all, the towns in the Disputed Lands and Lys had all holed up inside the city walls, waiting for them to attack.
Koma also gradually came to believe that all enemies in Essos were like this, so he was now completely failing to seriously scout the surrounding environment.
It's actually understandable; most Westeros soldiers never expected these Essos enemies to not defend their cities but instead dare to conduct field ambushes.
Knowing it was not the time for self-pity, Koma glanced at the empty front and the rear, which was surrounded by at least five hundred cavalry.
Having undergone successive battles and possessing mature battlefield judgment, Koma immediately made a decision.
He immediately drew his longsword, pointed it at the enemy cavalry who had begun charging from the rear, and shouted loudly,
"True men of Westeros, charge in a wedge formation!
Let's crash through these Essos whores!"
Swish, swish!
Woo-oh!
Hearing this, the nearly a hundred Frey Family cavalry quickly formed a wedge formation with Koma as the sharpest point.
Then they drew their longswords, raised them above their heads, pointed the tips towards the enemy, and charged towards the enemy while shouting strangely.
Bang, bang!
Neigh~~
Rip!
Ah!
As both sides' cavalry rapidly approached, various chaotic sounds instantly filled the battlefield.
There were collisions of both enemy and friendly soldiers and horses, and also killings of opponents during the charge's interweaving.
Screams, wails, blood, and bodies instantly wove together into a song of iron and blood about cruel war.
Rip!
At the very front of the Frey Family cavalry's wedge formation, Koma, bravely killing the enemy, fully played his role.
He powerfully hacked down two enemy cavalrymen, leading the Frey Family cavalry behind him to cut into the Westerlands cavalry's formation.
Swish!
After cutting into the enemy cavalry's formation, Koma directly released the reins in his hands, used his skilled horsemanship for control, and at the same time, using his now free hands to grip his sword, directly decapitated an enemy cavalryman.
In fact, most of Volantis's elite cavalry had already been exhausted in the war in the Disputed Lands!
Although this Tiger Party cavalry unit seemed to have four or five times the number of Koma's unit.
But they were still no match for the Frey Family cavalry, who had developed excellent combat power and high morale through successive victories.
But the Commander in charge of this Tiger Party cavalry unit had a keen battlefield intuition.
After seeing Koma's unstoppable unit, he instantly realized something was wrong and ordered the soldiers beside him: "Although we just received orders to hold back a little and not kill them all!
But that leading guy looks a bit unusual. Quickly have those hundred elite cavalrymen sortie and stop him! Don't let them really take the opportunity to escape!"
As this Commander's order was given, the nearly a hundred elite cavalrymen, whom he had always kept as a trump card and held in the rear of the formation,
began to intercept the Frey Family cavalry head-on, whose charge momentum was no longer as strong as at the start.
Clang!
Having cut down seven or eight men in a row, Koma, covered in blood, again swung his slightly dulled longsword with force, but as a collision sound rang out, his powerful cleaving strike was blocked by the opponent.
Hmm, it's the enemy's elite cavalry. It seems the real battle is just beginning now!
Koma, who had been fighting like a one-man army, saw that his sword strike had actually been blocked, and after his eyes met the opponent's completely calm, only cold gaze,
he instantly realized that the cavalry he was facing now were not rookies, but true elites.
That Tiger Party elite cavalryman and Koma exchanged a blow, and then both rode past each other.
As he was preparing to swing his longsword with force again towards the Frey Family cavalry behind him, a dark shadow swiftly attacked.
Thwack!
A cylindrical warhammer with a head about the size of a human head struck this Tiger Party elite cavalryman squarely on his faceguard.
Crack!
This Tiger Party elite cavalryman's uniquely shaped helmet was instantly smashed inward by the warhammer, while a crisp sound of bone breaking rang out, and blood splattered.
Koma turned his head to look, and it turned out to be his younger brother and second-in-command, Dicken Frey.
Although his brother was burly and possessed natural strength, his intelligence was slightly impaired, and he usually only listened to Koma's commands.
However, upon seeing his brother threatened, Dicken spontaneously stepped forward to help.
When Dicken withdrew his reforged warhammer, the Tiger Party elite cavalryman had already been rendered unrecognizable by his fierce hammer blow, leaving behind only a mass of blurred flesh and blood.
Clang, clang!
The Tiger Party elite cavalryman's body fell from his horse after losing balance, but because the stirrup was tangled around the body's leg, the warhorse dragged the unrecognizable corpse as it continued to run forward.
Thwack, thwack!
Dicken, behind Koma, became somewhat frenzied after seeing blood. His eyes were bloodshot, and he swung his long-handled warhammer, constantly smashing his opponents, looking completely like someone who had gone mad with killing.
These battle-hardened Tiger Party elite cavalrymen, even if they could block Koma's fierce longsword cleaves, could not escape Dicken's deadly long-handled warhammer!
The two brothers of the Frey Family immediately became like a sharp blade, constantly carving into the Tiger Party cavalry's formation.
But it is undeniable that after being blocked by these elite Tiger Party cavalrymen, the speed at which the Frey Family cavalry carved through the Tiger Party cavalry formation significantly slowed down.
Logically speaking, in a typical cavalry charge, the cavalry at the very front of the formation suffer the most casualties.
But under the leadership of Koma and Dicken, these two fierce generals, the current situation was completely the opposite.
The front of the Frey Family cavalry's wedge formation had fewer casualties and was still continuously carving into the Tiger Party cavalry formation.
Instead, the left and right flanks, which were supposed to be safer, were constantly being attacked and devoured by the Tiger Party cavalry formation.
As both sides' cavalry charged against each other in a cruel clash, cavalry bodies constantly fell from their warhorses on the battlefield, including both Frey Family cavalry and Tiger Party cavalry.
And large numbers of ownerless warhorses roamed near the battlefield, unwilling to leave for a long time.
When the Frey Family cavalry's casualties exceeded half, leaving only about fifty men.
Koma, who was completely covered in blood, finally had no other enemies in front of him.
Koma turned his head and scanned the surroundings. He found that more than two hundred Westerlands cavalry who had first crossed paths with them had already reined in their horses and were pursuing the Frey Family cavalry from the rear.
The enemy still has fresh troops?
Damn it, how many people did they actually ambush in this godforsaken place?!
Our horses are already tired from the march. If we go together, they will definitely catch up to us.
If we want to escape, there's only...
When he saw at least three hundred Tiger Party cavalry appear on the left rear of the Tiger Party formation, surrounding their side.
Many thoughts immediately flooded Koma's mind.
After quickly making a decision, he turned and shouted to Dicken behind him: "Dicken, quickly take men to hold them back!
Brother will go find the Duke for reinforcements first!"
Dicken was completely obedient to Koma. He immediately rode his horse, leading forty Frey cavalry, to charge head-on towards the three hundred Tiger Party cavalry.
And Koma, with the remaining ten-man cavalry squad, galloped rapidly towards the direction slightly biased towards the forest, taking a detour.
In the forest to the right and rear of this vital route, rows of giant crossbows with gleaming bolts were aimed at Dicken's ten-man squad, waiting only for the Commander's order.
"Let them go! The Archons are waiting for them to lead the others into the trap!"
A voice filled with laughter rang out, and the giant crossbows in the forest gradually loosened their strings, no longer aiming at Dicken and his group.
Unlike the relaxed atmosphere in the forest on the right, the Commander of the encircling Tiger Party cavalry was extremely flustered at this moment.
Because he originally just wanted to gain some prestige; seeing the encirclement succeed, he stepped forward to show his face.
But who knew that the enemy cavalry would actually fight outnumbered and successfully break through, and now the enemy cavalry was even coming towards him.
"Protect me! Quickly nock arrows and shoot! Quickly kill them for me!"
After calming down slightly, this Commander immediately issued attack orders to the cavalry beside him.
At this moment, his life was most important, so he no longer cared about the previous order to capture them alive if possible.
Koma and his group were not pursued by any Tiger Party cavalry and managed to escape successfully.
And Dicken, with forty Frey Family cavalry, fought against the three hundred Tiger Party elite cavalry and the four hundred ordinary Tiger Party cavalry who had re-encircled them.
Clatter clatter clatter!
The Westeros army, about half a day's ride behind Koma and the scout cavalry, was marching along this vital route at a normal riding speed.
When Duke Forrest saw Koma, who looked like half a bloodied man, he was greatly shocked.
In fact, his thoughts were similar to Koma's; he didn't believe the remaining Westerlands soldiers would dare abandon their castles and fight in the open field.
Therefore, this time on the way to Volantis, he did not repeatedly remind Koma of the previous reconnaissance principles.
After listening to Dicken's detailed description, Duke Forrest instantly realized that this was definitely a trap specifically targeting their side.
Interesting!
Instead of staying in Volantis and slowly waiting for death, why not gather together and fight with all their might?
Is that what the other side means?
With a thousand thoughts swirling in his mind, Duke Forrest pondered slightly and then decided on the tactical plan for what came next.
To quickly go and rescue Dicken, and also to be prepared for anything.
He left five hundred Frey Family soldiers at the original location to look after their remaining food supplies and other logistical materials.
He himself would lead a thousand lightly armed Frey Family cavalry and five thousand fully armed infantry to break through the enemy's trap and annihilate all enemies.
Due to the urgency of time, Duke Forrest took a step ahead with a thousand Frey Family cavalry, marching rapidly towards the location where Koma was ambushed.
And the remaining five thousand soldiers would forced march, possibly arriving half a day later.
In the afternoon, when the sun was setting towards the west from its zenith, they arrived at the battlefield full of blood and corpses.
Duke Forrest saw the situation at this vital route in the distance at a glance.
He saw that Dicken and three Frey Family cavalrymen had already lost their warhorses. They were covered in blood, swaying precariously, and completely surrounded by at least a thousand Tiger Party cavalry.
From time to time, Tiger Party cavalrymen would take advantage of their inattention, sneak up from behind, and add a bloody mark to their bodies.
This was purely treating them like monkeys for entertainment.
Whoosh!
After Duke Forrest slightly calmed his anger, he turned and issued his orders to the Frey Family cavalry behind him: "There are enemy ambushes in the forests on both sides. I will lead three hundred men to attack the forest on the right, and Koma will lead seven hundred men to attack the forest on the left.
Now, charge!" (End of this chapter)