Game of Thrones: From a deserter to a high-ranking official

Chapter 177 Settlement Time

Chapter 108 Settlement Time

"Put down your spears!" Dmitri stood at the front of the group and slammed his helmet onto his head.

"Put down your spears, everyone! Stick together tightly and hold off the first wave of attack!"

Therefore, when the first knight rode his warhorse out of the creek, he was met with a dense barrage of spearheads, as well as crossbow bolts and javelins that resembled a concentrated barrage of fire.

"Stab them under their armpits and on their horses!" old Tom roared. "Don't stab their bodies, damn it, you won't get through their armor!"

That's true. The super-heavy cavalry of Valantius wore a cotton or linen lining, then a chainmail, then a lamellar armor, and then a cotton armor with inlaid iron plates and copper nails attached to the cotton cloth—no weapon could pierce through it in one blow.

However, such heavy armor also means that once they are knocked to the ground, especially on muddy ground, they can hardly get up. The mud will trap them in, and the cotton armor will become heavier due to absorbing water.

Then, several spears pierced the chest and abdomen of the fallen knight. Next, the infantrymen in the formation, wielding sharp daggers, had their comrades hold the knight down and plunge their daggers into the neck or armpits—weak points in his armor.

Of course, there is another, even better weapon to deal with these strong knights.

"Hey!" A soldier standing on a chariot used something that looked like an enlarged version of nunchucks to knock a knight to the ground.

The flail, originally a farming tool, was transformed into a formidable weapon when iron nails and copper plates were added.

For former farmers who had spent years working with rice and wheat, the flail was far more effective than a spear.

Even if you don't knock the enemy unconscious, it's still very painful to take such a hit.

However, the Valantis army's impact was still terrifying.

Especially the six war elephants and the remaining heavy cavalry, which moved like mountains, brought immense pressure and casualties to the defenders. At the most critical moment of the battle, Tiberius and Vito even witnessed several Valantis commanders, despite being hit by multiple arrows, still charging forward frantically to inspire their troops; their bravery was awe-inspiring.

Just as the battle lines were teetering on the brink of collapse, Tiberius made a move that shocked everyone. He suddenly pulled a thick roll of parchment from his robes—slave certificates for all the families of the "Lightning Regiment" soldiers, which he had secretly raised funds to buy and preserve!

He leaped onto a slightly higher mound so that all the Lightning Regiment soldiers could see him.

Tiberius, facing countless astonished, bewildered, and then blazing gazes, roared with all his might, his voice drowning out all the clamor of the battlefield: "Brothers! I know what you crave! Today, we are here not just to fight for survival!"

Under the incredulous gaze of everyone, he suddenly stretched the scroll of parchment, symbolizing endless suffering and shackles, toward the torch held aloft by the soldier beside him!

Flames instantly surged up, greedily devouring the contracts covered with names and handprints, turning them into flying ashes!

"Look! The chains that bound you and your families have been burned!"

Tiberius's voice boomed like thunder, echoing in the ears of every soldier in the "Lightning Regiment": "Now, for your own destiny and freedom! Now, for your families! For yourselves—kill!!"

"free--!!!"

A deafening roar erupted from the "Lightning Regiment's" position. The soldiers, who were already showing signs of fatigue, suddenly had a terrifying light in their eyes, as if wounded beasts had been infused with a violent soul.

With unimaginable willpower and strength, they withstood the final frenzied charge of the Valantis war elephants and heavy cavalry, pinning the enemy firmly to the edge of the swamp and death!

"Tiberius, they've retreated!" Habroy roared at Tiberius, throwing a chipped dagger to the ground. "Where are Jules and the others?"

"Coming right away!" Tiberius's hands were covered in sweat.

Yes, where is Uncle?

Just as the Valantians' offensive faltered and their morale began to waver—

"For the White Legion! For victory—charge!!" Jules's powerful roar rang out from the flank.

He personally led the 120 heavily armored knights who had been resting and recuperating for a long time, as well as the 200 most elite veterans as reserves, and suddenly attacked from the flank like a thunderbolt that had been gathering momentum for a long time!

This new force, with its invincible momentum, swept through and tore apart the already chaotic formation of the Valantis like a hot knife cutting into cooled butter!

Then, from inside the cliff fortress, "Henchman" Leon lowered the city gate.

"Prepare to charge! Hold back those cheese-smelling bastards from the Summer Storm!" Leon pointed his scimitar at the Valantius cavalry on the outer edge of the battle line.

At this moment, the scales of victory tipped completely in favor of those who were fighting for survival, accompanied by the flames of the burning pact and the bugle calls from the flanks.

Swamps, blood, and the aura of the ruthless, along with flames and the slogan of freedom, together forged this tragic yet glorious victory.

The stench of blood from the battlefield had not yet dissipated, but the atmosphere had already changed. Lisanro Rogal, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement, was loudly directing his soldiers to clear the battlefield. He expertly instructed his men to carefully bind and guard the prisoners—especially the high-ranking heavy cavalry, cavalry, and officers of the Tiger Robe Army—while his eyes gleamed as he meticulously counted the captured, intact armor, weapons, and flags.

As the heir to the Rogar family, he knew all too well the enormous ransoms and wealth these high-quality spoils and noble captives could fetch from Ries or their families.

Even by the most conservative estimate, they could earn more than 50,000 gold coins in pure profit from this battle alone!

Meanwhile, the soldiers were dealing with the remnants of the battlefield. Some warhorses and mules that were too badly injured to be saved were reluctantly executed and became meat to feed the troops and replenish their strength.

When Jules ordered the surviving but ownerless war elephants to be driven into the nearby woods and released, Tiberius and Lisanlo both showed obvious disappointment. These powerful war beasts were themselves extremely valuable assets.

And war elephants are really cool!

"Uncle, they can be sold for a lot of money, or, in fact, we can try to use them to arm ourselves—" Tiberius couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Jules merely glanced at him coldly: "We can't afford to keep them. How many bananas and rice would we have to feed them every day? Besides, without an elephant trainer, we can't tame them. Letting them go back to where they belong is better than letting them become rotting corpses."

His gaze swept over the captured Valantis elite cavalrymen, who, though bound, still burned with the flames of humiliation and defiance in their eyes.

For them, defeat might be acceptable, but being captured was more like an additional humiliation.

"Tiberius," Vito suddenly found Tiberius and told him some news.

"What's wrong, Vito?" Tiberius, his left hand resting on the sword at his waist, was giving a small bag of silver coins to a brave but wounded soldier.

"Well, how should I put it—" Vito scratched his head and then said.

"After the final count, I discovered that we had seized over four hundred golden spurs —"

"Go report the spoils to my uncle." Tippy waved his hand impatiently. "I'm not in charge of that."

"No, Tiberius!" Vito exclaimed, growing increasingly agitated. "Do you know what that means?"

"What does that mean?"

"In this battle, we killed nearly four hundred nobles and knights alone! Because according to the rules of Valantis, only nobles and super-heavy cavalry are qualified to use the golden spurs!"

"And the entire Three Daughters Kingdom, from the start of the war until now, has probably killed less than a quarter of the nobles we have!"

"In other words, this was undoubtedly a resounding and exhilarating victory!"

[Tch, the second-line troops defending the upstream areas are hardly comparable to the nobles and knights charging into battle on the front lines.] Tiberius thought to himself.

But in any case, they did something that the Three Kingdoms could never do: they won a truly resounding victory!

"Hmm—" Tippi hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Since our victory is so glorious, Vito, record this battle as—"

"Let's have a showdown between the Golden State Warriors and the Spurs!"

After a temporary rest and inventory, the command team gathered again in front of the map stained with mud and blood.

Jules pointed his finger heavily to a location on the map—a town called "Broken Spear River Crossing" in the upper reaches of the disputed river. It was the only strategic location in the upper reaches capable of supporting a large-scale army's rapid crossing.

"Uncle, we have repeatedly confirmed with the prisoners," Tiberius said, his voice hoarse from exhaustion as he looked at the map, but his eyes remained sharp. "The army we annihilated was the only mobile field force left in the entire upper reaches of the Controversial River."

His fingertips moved away from "Broken Spear River Crossing" and traced the mark.

"So, this crucial ferry crossing city is practically an undefended treasure trove! Its garrison is either already the mud beneath our feet, or, upon hearing the news of the main force's annihilation, is probably already packing their belongings and preparing to flee!"

He raised his head, his gaze fixed intently on Jules, his tone filled with unwavering resolve and an urgent desire to seize the opportunity: "Uncle, this is a golden opportunity! Let's go! Before they can react, before they can mobilize troops from downstream, let's take the Broken Spear River crossing and Broken Spear City in one fell swoop! Once we control this crossing, most of the entire upstream region will be under our control. In any case, Ries and the other city-states will have to acknowledge this victory—"

"After all—" Tiberius blinked rather slyly as he said this.

"After all, they haven't achieved a single strategic victory so far! We, on the other hand, have truly brought them a great victory they can boast about in parliament!"

But before that—

"Uncle, those prisoners—" Tippi asked with some hesitation.

"What are you planning to do?"