The Mountain of Ice and Fire

"For Robin Ryger!" a knight shouted. "Brothers, charge!"

"Long live Robin Ryger!" the soldiers yelled as they jumped ashore, rushing towards King's Landing along the riverside avenue.

On the pontoon bridge, more warriors surged like a tide. Splash! Splash! Unwary individuals continuously fell into the water.

These were casualties!

There were simply too many people; some soldiers perished before even engaging in battle!

Angai had already led his two hundred mounted archers far away.

The pontoon bridge was lost. Over a hundred enemy soldiers were shot dead, including Robin Ryger, an important Stormlands lord who died from his wounds; over two hundred soldiers were wounded by arrows. Among the two hundred mounted archer brothers and twenty shipwrights, not a single one was harmed.

The northern and southern banks, the control of the stone towers, were seized by Stannis.

His infantry swarmed across the river!

The pontoon bridge creaked and groaned, as if on the verge of collapse.

However, numerous rafts floated down from the upper reaches, and a pontoon bridge made of rafts was constructed with the support of the flowing water and the wreckage of warships.

Infantry warriors, as dense as ants, rushed onto this passage.

On the city walls, the horn sounded for the Mountain to withdraw his troops back into the city!

The patrolling warriors outside, the infantry leading the support of Angai, all returned to the city!

King's Landing had thick, high walls; this was the advantage of terrain.

Although the Mountain had not received any professional military command training before transmigrating, he was thoroughly familiar with the three key elements of warfare: timing, terrain, and morale!

The timing was about the same for everyone; however, the terrain advantage was on the Mountain's side, so he had to exploit this advantage instead of engaging the enemy one-on-one at the foot of the city walls.

From a high vantage point, stones, buckets of asphalt, wildfire, bows and arrows, catapults, and the last bit of wildfire could easily kill large numbers of enemies.

Then there was morale.

On this point, the army's morale and fighting spirit were already at their peak. As long as the king did not flee from the city walls first, morale would have its strongest cohesion.

*

South bank, near the stone tower.

A scout rushed to report: "Your Majesty, our naval fleet is at the river mouth."

Stannis was taken aback.

The courtiers surrounding him were overjoyed.

"How many ships?"

"Forty warships, Saladhor Saan's fleet."

Pirate ships hired by Davos Seaworth at great expense.

"Order them to immediately cross the Water Gate and come to reinforce us."

"Your Majesty, Saladhor Saan has sent a small boat ashore to present us with new conditions?"

"What conditions?"

"He wants double the gold."

Stannis's expression hardened.

Prime Minister Errol said, "Your Majesty, agree to it."

Stannis stared at Prime Minister Errol without saying a word.

Errol said, "Soldier, our king has agreed. Go and order Saladhor Saan to lead his fleet to attack King's Landing."

The scout hesitated.

"Does he have any other demands?" Stannis asked in a deep voice, his tone unkind.

"Commander Saladhor Saan hopes that Your Majesty can agree to him…"

"Agree to what?"

"If King's Landing falls, he hopes that Your Majesty can allow him to forcibly defile Cersei Lannister."

Stannis's face immediately turned black. "I will have his head!" Stannis said, one word at a time.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to meet with Saladhor Saan," Prime Minister Errol said. "I will not agree to this condition, as it damages our honor, but I will persuade him to attack King's Landing with us."

Stannis stared at Errol and nodded.

"As you command, Your Majesty." Errol immediately left with his guards.

"These are the good helpers that Onion Knight Davos Seaworth found, kicking a man when he's down, asking for exorbitant prices, devoid of all honor," Ser Herbert Bolling said contemptuously.

The Bolling family's coat of arms was orange and blue, with a black area at the top containing a golden stag under an orange diagonal stripe from the upper right to the lower left.

A golden stag?

House Baratheon was the crowned stag!

The founder of House Bolling was said to be a bastard of some ancestor of House Baratheon, and the stag coat of arms was due to this reason.

Tracing back hundreds of years, the two families were of the same bloodline: the crowned stag.

Stannis only glanced at Herbert Bolling, and the young knight's heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat broke out on his back. He stopped speaking awkwardly, moved, and hid his figure among the other knights.

Stannis looked at the dozens of noble knights around him and said, "Now is the moment of决战. Gentlemen, follow me to take King's Landing, and there will be great rewards! Whoever retreats in fear of battle, I will cut off his head!"

Stannis flipped onto his horse!

The knights were surprised and suspicious. Was the king not waiting for Saladhor Saan's fleet?

The generals dared not ask and mounted their horses one after another.

Clang!

Stannis drew his longsword and galloped in front of the troops of cavalry holding torches: "Soldiers, cross the pontoon bridge and take King's Landing!"

Clang clang clang!

Generals and guards drew their longswords: "Long live Stannis!"

The lancers pointed their lances at the sky, like a dense forest of spears: "Long live Stannis!"

The shouts shook the earth, and could be heard within King's Landing.

Stannis turned his horse's head, roared, and galloped away. The courtiers drew their longswords and followed.

Davos Seaworth followed closely beside the king, drew his short sword, and shouted loudly: "Long live the King, long live Stannis!"

The child's voice was drowned out by the hooves and the roar of tens of thousands of soldiers, and he could not even hear himself.

Boom!

Stannis was the first to ride his horse onto the pontoon bridge.

Crack crack!

The pontoon bridge's planks broke.

Stannis pulled the reins, and his horse soared into the air, landing on a raft. The horse's hooves splashed water, and he swayed, then steadied himself, squeezed his legs, and the horse moved forward.

The warhorses neighed, and under the whippings and coercion of the generals and guards, tentatively stepped onto the pontoon bridge.

Boom!

One horse lost its footing and fell into the water, stirring up a large wave.

However, the pontoon bridge blocked the entire water surface, and the cavalry and warhorses struggled in the water, and with the help of everyone, got back onto the raft.

The momentum of the team stalled!

Stannis was skilled in horsemanship, and the warhorse was also a fine breed. He rode alone in front, nimbly maneuvering.

Davos Seaworth and the king's standard-bearer followed him closely.

After a brief adjustment, the cavalry crossed the river in turns of two, carefully.

Raft pontoon bridges crossed cavalry, and warship wrecks crossed infantry.

Soon, the team found a rhythm, became orderly, and crossed the river at a constant speed.

Long live the King, long live Stannis, long live Baratheon, the shouts rang out.

The crowned stag coat of arms on the king's flag was almost invisible, surrounded by a circle of red flames like fresh blood.

Flame pattern - the symbol of the Lord of Light.

This was the faith of his priestess Melisandre, and also the faith of Stannis.

In order to seize the Iron Throne and obtain magical power from the Lord of Light, Stannis Baratheon believed in the Lord of Light and appointed Melisandre as the court priestess.

*

King's Landing was sleepless tonight!

The news that Stannis Baratheon had crossed the Blackwater River from the pontoon bridge spread throughout the city like wind.

The news about the large number of Stannis's army had been spreading throughout the city for many days, and the common people were afraid.

The Mountain, the Imp, and Joffrey stood on the walls of the Iron Gate, watching countless bright torches shining on the distant Blackwater River, drawing a beautiful band of light like a Milky Way.

And the foremost band of light was already approaching the Iron Gate of King's Landing.

The enemy's shouts of attacking the Iron Gate entered the city, causing the people to silence, listen attentively, and look surprised.

The sound of thousands of people running was like thunder, and the ground shook slightly.

Joffrey's face changed.

The enemy's momentum was not as weak as he had imagined. It seemed that the enemy was not timid at all.

The shouts of long live Robin Ryger and long live Stannis approached the city walls, becoming louder and louder, and finally resounded through the night sky.

Joffrey looked at the Mountain and the Imp. Both demons were calm. The Mountain stared indifferently at the approaching spots of fire, while the Imp showed a thoughtful look.

"Ballistae, prepare!" the Mountain shouted!

"Ballistae, prepare!" the messenger shouted on the city wall.

Ballistae were much smaller than catapults, as wide as carriages and no taller than adults. They could launch round stones weighing ten, twenty, or thirty pounds, or buckets of asphalt and wildfire. They were ranged weapons for attacking dense formations.

The Mountain wanted to kill and injure Stannis's soldiers first, and his own people should have as few casualties as possible.

Although the pontoon bridge was lost, if the iron cables were cut, Stannis would inevitably force his way across the river. At that time, it would be like遍地开花, and Stannis's soldiers could not be concentrated at one point for effective ranged strikes.

When the enemy crossed the pontoon bridge, more than three hundred people were shot dead and wounded by Angai's two hundred-man teams, while Angai and his mounted archers suffered no losses.

During the crossing, the number of people who fell into the water was uncountable.

These losses would be added together, step by step, weakening Stannis's strength.

Stannis's infantry and cavalry had to be concentrated on the Iron Gate road after crossing the pontoon bridge. The formation was dense, and the ballistae's attack could achieve the best effect.

The Mountain was like a mathematical master, repeatedly calculating in his mind. All kinds of designs and measures had only one purpose: to kill and injure as many as possible!

"Rockets! Prepare!" The Mountain ordered again.

"Rockets, prepare!" The messenger shouted, and one messenger after another shouted, instantly spreading throughout the entire section of the Iron Gate city wall.

The Mountain's roar was like thunder, and in fact, there was no need for a messenger.

The archers densely packed on the city wall pointed their arrows downward, lit the arrowheads in the braziers in front of them, drew their bows, and the arrowheads pointed to the sky. Row after row, column after column, uniform and orderly.

The military might was awe-inspiring!

"Ballistae, fire!" the Mountain roared.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Ten ballistae concentrated their fire, some with round stones, some with buckets of wildfire, and some with buckets of asphalt.

Several stone bullets slammed into the crowd, and screams and broken limbs flew in the torchlight.

Buckets of asphalt and wildfire were thrown out, landing in the crowd, splashing out circles of fire, and a chorus of wails rang out.

The ballistae fired non-stop, blooming in the middle of the crowd, and the advancing team scattered, like ants whose nests had been blown up. Many soldiers turned around, many soldiers jumped into the river, and some soldiers jumped off the road and ran into the woods and bushes.

Those who were lucky enough to avoid the attack continued to advance. The city walls and the Iron Gate were in front of them.

"Rockets, fire!" the Mountain shouted.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

Countless rockets streaked across the night sky, like brilliant fireworks, whistling down to the avenue below the Iron Gate. The beautiful flames, the arc-shaped bands of light, and the dreamlike flame tails brought the soldiers' screams and dying groans.

The Mountain was not afraid of the enemy attacking the city walls. When the wooden ladders were set up, a large wave of stones that had been prepared would kill and injure many soldiers.

And Stannis's soldiers, with all kinds of losses, were already less than forty thousand.

The ballistae boomed, and the rockets rained down. The dense enemy troops, concentrated on the only road leading to death, became brilliant targets.

The first wave of troops shouting long live Robin had fallen before attacking the Iron Gate. The avenue and the bottom of the city walls were covered with corpses and moaning wounded.

"Your Majesty, please put on your visor," the Imp said.

The enemy was attacking, and the first wave of attacks had been destroyed, but cold arrows occasionally hit the battlements, and more arrows hit the middle of the city walls, far from the top of the city walls where they were standing, but the danger was increasing. The Imp was worried that if a soldier approached the city walls, a cold arrow would fly up and hit the king's beautiful face, which would be terrible.

Joffrey looked down at the city: "The enemy's attack has been repelled. Dwarf uncle, what are you worried about?"

"This is only the first wave," the Imp said seriously. "If the enemy has a sharpshooter who quietly approaches from other places and shoots an arrow in secret, you will be in danger."

Joffrey shrugged, gave the Imp an indifferent expression, and then put down his visor.

The Imp also put down his visor, which immediately made him feel obstructed vision and difficulty breathing.

He believed that Joffrey also had this feeling, but it would get much better after a while.

"Brothers on the Iron Gate, prepare the stones, wildfire, and asphalt buckets," the Mountain shouted.

So, the soldiers on the Iron Gate prepared round stones, wildfire, and asphalt one after another.

These things were not unlimited, but if these things were used up, the enemy would have lost almost as much. This was the effect that the Mountain wanted - the advantage of terrain!

*

Stannis successfully crossed the Blackwater River, and his success inspired the soldiers, and the cavalry crossed the river one after another.

When the second wave of attacks was repelled by the defending soldiers commanded by the Mountain, leaving a ground of corpses, Stannis was surrounded by tens of thousands of soldiers, eight thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry.

"Stop crossing the river!" Stannis ordered.

The messenger shouted, "Stop crossing the river."

On the opposite bank of the river, there were still more than twenty thousand soldiers.

The soldiers stopped crossing the river, and the last soldier on the pontoon bridge jumped ashore.

"Soldiers, drag the small boats, and carry the rafts," Stannis ordered.

Many small boats and rafts were carried ashore.

"Rafts and small boats are your shields. In groups of ten, with rafts or small boats overhead, the small boats turned over, with the bottom facing the sky, we can rush through the ballistae area, and even avoid the rockets," Stannis shouted on horseback.

The soldiers burst into cheers!

The slogan of long live the king was roared by the courtiers again under their encouragement.

Stannis possessed unique military talent. Though not as personally valiant as Robert, he was a formidable commander. Seventeen years ago, Storm's End was besieged by ten times its forces for a year. Internal and external communications were cut off, supply lines severed, and traitors within the castle constantly plotted to open the gates and surrender. When food ran out, under all these unfavorable circumstances, Stannis led his soldiers in holding Storm's End for a year until Eddard Stark arrived with reinforcements.

*

"Cut the chains!" Stannis ordered. He believed that with Allister's efforts, he could persuade the pirate captain Salladhor Saan to lead his warships to attack King's Landing. He calculated the time and felt the moment had arrived!

The Kingsguard in their black armor stormed into the stone tower, wrecked the winches, and severed the iron chains.

The floating bridge began to slowly descend, barely moving at first, but then gaining speed rapidly. The sounds of creaking, cracking, and splintering filled the air as the wrecked ships compressed, planks snapped, and the wreckage collided, spun, and finally crashed down towards the turbulent and dangerous waters of the Water Gate.

Wrecked warships, scattered rafts, and floating corpses surged into the Water Gate's waters, mercilessly swept away by the current, colliding and entangling with countless sharp reefs on the seabed, before resurfacing far away, everything reduced to unrecognizable fragments.

*

Outside the Water Gate, forty pirate ships began to raise their sails and head towards the Blackwater Rush. On the bow of the lead ship, Hand Allister and pirate captain Salladhor Saan stood together, pointing and discussing. Inside the flagship's cabin, a maester was carefully tending to a battered and pale man: Davos Seaworth.

*

ps: Received, Jiu Lei Ge, thank you for your support.

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