Chapter 126 One battle will determine the outcome, I will be the king in the river

Clay, who was already heading towards the east gate of Riverrun, had no intention of recalling the fate of the five or six thousand remaining Lannister troops trapped in the encirclement.

Although the trapped beast still fights bravely, it is a pity that the body is covered in blood and the final outcome is death.

The Lannister troops who were unwilling to go down the river launched their final counterattack. However, facing the Northern Cavalry who were armed to the teeth, the counterattack brought by these soldiers who had lost their equipment, organization, and courage dissipated much more quickly. A wisp of smoke is even faster.

The remaining people, about one or two thousand people, knelt down and surrendered, begging for the forgiveness of the Northerners. Clay saw the hesitation in the eyes of his soldiers and asked them to charge head-on with the Lannister army. They had nothing to do. fear.

However, they were asked to massacre one or two thousand unarmed prisoners who surrendered on their knees. These people, who were bound by their faith, still instinctively refused.

Although they didn't want to disobey Clay, the commander who brought them victory.

In this regard, Clay did not force them. Since the simple northern boys were unwilling to take action, Clay ordered them to surround the place and not let them go.

Clay led his subordinates towards Riverrun. What was the fate of these Lannister prisoners? Clay was prepared to hand it over to the lord here for processing.

If they can survive the "mercy" of the Lord of the Riverlands, there is no need for Clay to kill them. Therefore, what these prisoners have to do now is to pray devoutly to the Seven Gods.

News has just been sent that the Lannister army on the north bank was suddenly attacked by the Riverrun army when they were crossing the river. They left behind five or six hundred corpses and retreated hastily. The Riverrun army could not catch up.

Therefore, Clay's results in this battle are as follows:

In the camp on the north bank, 500 of the 3,000 Lannister troops were killed, and the remaining 2,500 fled towards the west.

In the southeast camp, there were 4,000 Lannister troops. A total of 3,200 people died on the battlefield, and nearly 300 people fled to the southwest.

In the southwest camp, there were three thousand Lannister troops, a total of two thousand heads were counted, and more than three hundred people fled towards the Golden Teeth City.

In addition, more than two hundred people jumped into the raging Red Fork River. Whether they were alive or dead was something Clay could not count.

Therefore, in this battle, Clay directly killed more than 5,700 Lannister troops on the battlefield, ran out and captured more than 1,000 troops, and left more than 2,000 Tengshi Hebei Camp troops. They were blocked north of the Tengshi River and could not escape south.

The number of casualties on our side has been reported. Like the Battle of Virgin Valley, the exchange ratio is extremely disparate.

A total of 242 of Clay's cavalry were killed and more than 100 wounded. Minor injuries were not included in the statistics.

It's not a stretch, but it still hurts a little bit.

Lannister's desperate counterattack still caused some trouble for Clay's men.

However, in terms of the overall battle situation, the situation Clay is facing now is not a small good, nor a great good, but a very good one.

The thousand cavalry he deployed near Golden Tooth City were probably impatient to wait at this moment. These defeated troops who had just escaped from the dead thought they could breathe a sigh of relief, but suddenly they encountered a thousand cavalry waiting for work. , what are the consequences, do you still need to think about it?

How many of them can survive depends entirely on whether Earl Glover is merciful. However, based on Clay's understanding of the Earl, he will bring him a satisfactory result.

Thinking about it, Clay's horse snorted and stopped. Clay's eyes refocused and he took a closer look. It turned out that the welcoming team from Riverrun was already in front of him.

Edmure Tully, this unlucky guy, was rescued by Earl Severn in the southwest camp. He was sent back to Riverrun at the speed of light. After making sure that there were no key items missing from him, he freshened up and dressed up. At this time, he was already leading All the riverland nobles came out of the city to meet Commander Clay Manderly, who controlled five thousand northern troops.

So actually, this is the first time Clay and Edmure Tully met, and it can be considered a rather magical thing.

The heir of Riverrun has the iconic reddish-brown hair of the Tully family, and his figure when riding a horse looks a little chubby. Although the series of reddish-brown beards on his chin make him look more powerful, In fact, everyone knew that he had just escaped from prison.

Edmure Tully himself had only recently learned from the two northern earls who sent him to Riverrun that the battle that allowed him to regain his freedom was a man named Clay Mander. The young northern nobleman planned to command.

Although he is the heir of the Duke, and the Clay in front of him is just the heir of a count family in Mandalay, and Edmure is much older than Clay, but in this northern commander who is full of murderous intent and whose robes are stained with blood, In front of him, Edmure couldn't hold any airs.

He himself was able to get out of trouble by relying on Cray's fierce attack. The identity of the heir of the Riverlands has some effect on the ordinary vassals of the Riverlands. In Cray's case, no one needs to say that Edmure knows very well that it is not easy to use at all. .

"Lord Clay Manderly, on behalf of the Tully family of Riverrun, I would like to thank you for your assistance. Your bravery will be praised throughout Westeros."

Edmure Tully spoke politely. Although it was impossible for the Northerners to take action against them, the Lannister army of 10,000 men who had just defeated them was stationed outside the city.

The Riverlands army would not dare to mess with them. To put it mildly, the Tully family and the Stark family are related by marriage, but what does it have to do with Clay's Manderly family?

Clay looked at the other party's somewhat reserved look. Thinking that the other party had just come out of the prison, it didn't make it difficult for him, so he nodded:

"As Lord Stark's vassal, it is my responsibility to defeat the Lannister. Riverrun is famous for its hospitality. I believe I will have a good afternoon."

Edmure Tully was the heir to the Riverlands after all, and he immediately understood the hidden meaning of Clay's words:

As a vassal of Stark, my job is to fight the Lannister. I just save you by the way, don't be sentimental.

This is to ensure the independence of his own army, because Robb Stark is not here, so if the two alliances, Duke Hoster Tully can ask for his son Edmure Tully to come from Clay He wants to take over the command of this army.

But Clay's words now closed this gap.

I'm not that close to you. The military power belongs to me, Clay Manderly, so you can't get involved.

Feeling helpless, there was nothing Edmure Tully could do. His character was a bit soft, and he didn't insist on anything. He turned aside and gave way to the city:

"Lord Clay, please follow me into the city. My father is waiting for your arrival in the main castle. He really wants to see you, the hero who destroyed ten thousand Lannister troops in one battle."

In the study, Clay met the old man who held the titles of Duke of Riverrun, Patriarch of the Tully Family, and Governor of the Trident River.

He was too old, and after that strong spirit, there was boundless weakness. He should have been lying in bed, enjoying the surroundings of his children and grandchildren, and spending the last few years of his life.

However, as the master of Riverrun, when his son lost consecutive battles, became a prisoner, and lost all his prestige, he must force himself to put on the most majestic clothes and appear here to support the weak Tully family. Raise the facade.

"Your Majesty the Duke."

Clay saluted. No matter what, the other party's level was higher than his own, and the two families were currently very die-hard allies. Even if he was arrogant, there was no need to show it here.

He was answered by a series of coughs, and the heavy breathing of Lord Hoster Tully sounded to Clay like a huge bellows that was broken everywhere.

The signs of life are disappearing from this old man little by little. This is something that everyone can see.

"On behalf of the warriors of Riverrun, I would like to express my gratitude to Lord Clay."

Seeing that the old Duke was speechless for a long time, a tall noble standing next to the old Duke came to the rescue of Duke Horst.

His voice attracted Clay's eyes, and he continued:

"I am Tytos Blackwood. In the name of the Duke, I temporarily command the army of Riverrun."

With that said, Clay knew who he was.

This Earl is the owner of Crowtree City where Clay was stationed before the Battle of Virgin Valley.

In all senses, this gentleman's appearance can only be regarded as average. His nose is large and aquiline, his long gray-black hair hangs down behind his head, and his gray beard is like a steel needle.

Clay noticed that the cloak on Lord Tytos Blackwood was very interesting. If he saw it correctly, the very luxurious-looking cloak should be made entirely of crow feathers.

It matches Crowtree City and his family crest very well, Clay thought to himself.

"Lord Earl, the war is not over yet. I don't care what to do with the Lannister prisoners outside the city, but I have only one request. They cannot be allowed to return to the West. Soldiers who have been on the battlefield once are the most precious. wealth."

Earl Blackwood's answer was quite succinct:

"I agree, it's a very reasonable request."

The first consensus was reached, which was a good start for Clay. He continued:

"On the north bank of the Tengshi River, there are still more than 2,000 defeated Lannister troops on the run. The bottom line is still the same. I will not allow any soldiers to return to the West."

At this time, a noble from the Riverlands present interjected:

"Then you should send troops to Golden Tooth City instead of telling us here."

"Shut up!"

Edmure Tully and Tytos Blackwood spoke at the same time, and then gave the nobleman a vicious look.

Just kidding, Clay Manderly, whom they know nothing about, is the boss here. It’s okay if he recognizes us, but if he doesn’t recognize us, just based on what you just said, he casually said "in your castle" If there are Lannister troops hiding, they can directly send troops to sack your castle.

Do you dare to resist? Jaime Lannister used 12,000 men to defeat 20,000 of us. Lord Clay used 5,000 men and killed more than 7,000 people on the battlefield alone.

Based on this calculation, how many tens of thousands of people in the Riverlands can stand a chance against Clay Manderly and his army?

Clay simply didn't care about the rude remarks made by these minor nobles.

Shaking his head indifferently, Clay was about to say this:

"Before the war started, I had already sent Earl Glover of Deepwood Castle to lead a thousand men to ambush near Golden Teeth City. Therefore, the defeated troops of the two large camps on the south side should not be able to escape back to the West."

"The crux of the problem is that there are more than 2,000 Lannisters in this organization. They want to fight their way back home. With Earl Glover's 1,000 people, I'm afraid it will be very difficult..."