owlsbooks #217 - Chapter 27: The Battle of King's Landing (VIII)
#217 - Chapter 27: The Battle of King's Landing (VIII)
"Crack~ Crack~" The thick iron chains were slowly pulled up, blocking many ships fleeing the North Shore. They couldn't break through at all, and some of the smaller ships were even overturned.
Stannis's army wasn't entirely useless. The guards at the South Shore winch tower desperately released the iron chains, and a soldier shouted, "Officer~! The chains are almost at the end! What should we do?"
The officer looked at the fire sea slowly spreading across the river, and became anxious: "That's right, the chains! Quickly chop the chains!"
Several soldiers picked up large axes and chopped, sparks flying everywhere. Someone shouted, "It's no good! Officer, the chains are too strong, we can't chop them at all!"
The officer cursed: "Are you stupid! If you can't chop the chains, destroy the winch! Destroy the winch for me." With everyone's efforts, the winch was destroyed and dragged into the river by the iron chains.
The army could escape ashore, but the ships couldn't! Of the two hundred ships in the river, no more than eighty could truly escape, and many of them were still burning with flames.
A large number of soldiers fled back to the shore, abandoning their weapons and armor in the river in order to escape. The soldiers blocked by the fire sea on the North Shore were gathered together by the generals and slowly retreated westward. They couldn't even gather enough weapons and armor, and their morale was even lower.
If it weren't for the fact that the city's defending soldiers were too tired from two days of fierce fighting and simply didn't have the strength, they would have missed this opportunity. If the defenders had launched a counterattack at this time, they might have been able to defeat Stannis's army on the North Shore in one fell swoop.
Tyrion reluctantly gave up on this plan. The enemy still had a complete army outside the King's Gate, and the soldiers he could currently piece together might not even be able to beat them. He turned his gaze to the northeast, where the firelight seemed to be dying out. Two thousand barrels of wildfire could only burn for so long.
For the entire night, the attacking and defending sides watched the burning Blackwater Rush. There wasn't enough wildfire oil to sustain a large area of burning, only patches here and there. Only the ships were still burning.
The remaining ships of the Royal Fleet, plus Stannis's fleet, totaled two hundred and twenty large ships and more than three hundred small ships.
Stannis stood by the river with a livid face, staring for the entire night. In one night, he lost one hundred and fifty large ships, including all the warships.
More than four thousand people were burned to death directly, and nearly three thousand people were burned by the flames. The military camp was full of wailing wounded soldiers, and the Blackwater Rush was full of shipwrecks with the upper parts above the waterline burned black. The generals also suffered significant losses. His nephew, Ser Imry Florent, Ser Justin Massey, Stane Hopes, and seventeen other lords and nobles were killed in battle. Morris Velaryon and others were seriously injured, with large areas of burns all over their bodies, and were currently being treated in the camp.
According to news from Salladhor Saan, Davos Seaworth launched a surprise attack from Smuggler's Bay last night, but was ambushed by the defenders. The entire force was burned clean by wildfire, almost completely annihilated. Less than 300 people were rescued afterward, and Ser Davos was missing and his whereabouts were unknown.
There were also many wrecks piled together, like a river embankment. A glimmer of light gradually appeared in Stannis's eyes, and the idea in his heart became more and more firm.
Tyrion, who also hadn't slept all night, naturally saw the scene on the Blackwater Rush. Bronn had returned to report, along with the 800 mercenaries. Bronn: "My lord, I have fulfilled my mission. That fire last night killed more than 1,000 people. Before dawn, the enemy troops outside the Iron Gate retreated, and those fleets disappeared as well. Your scene here is bigger! Tsk tsk tsk~ Spectacular!"
"Boom boom boom, boom boom~!" The sound of war drums rang out, and Tyrion was very surprised. He quickly leaned on the battlements. He saw Stannis's army on the opposite bank of the river reorganizing. A large number of soldiers were carrying sandbags and wooden boards, and once again rushed towards the Blackwater Rush.
"What are they doing?" Countless people on the city wall had this thought. Although Tyrion was smart, his combat experience was not rich. Much of his knowledge came from books.
Bronn watched for a while and said, "My lord, Stannis is using the wreckage of those ships to build pontoon bridges. It seems they haven't given up on King's Landing."
Tyrion didn't understand why the enemy army still had the strength to fight. But he knew that the truly dangerous moment had arrived! The enemy army was still able to maintain their fighting spirit under these circumstances. Despite the huge losses of the past two days, Stannis still had nearly 20,000 troops. But the troops he had on hand that could maintain the long battle line from the River Gate to the King's Gate, after removing the wounded, only had about six thousand people who could fight.
He looked up at Joffrey, who didn't know the seriousness of the situation. He sighed secretly: "Hound, take people to clear the obstacles behind the city gate. We need to launch a counter-charge when necessary to disrupt the enemy's rhythm. Bronn, go to the Alchemist's Guild and bring me all the wildfire. This may be my last battle. Damn it, I never thought I would be so brave!"
Stannis announced the order to continue the attack with his tough attitude. He used the wreckage of the ships to build three pontoon bridges, and withdrew all the wounded from the North Shore. In order to ensure that the army had no worries, he shipped all 3,000 wounded people from the estuary. He ordered these people to be sent back to Dragonstone first. A large number of wounded would affect the morale of the troops. In fact, these people were drifting at sea without medicine. By the time they arrived at Dragonstone, it would be good if half of them were still alive.
Stannis's desperate gamble happened to hit Tyrion's weakness. He had already played his last card, and now it was time to fight, and it was also a competition of the will of the two armies.
Cersei, who received the news, also left the cellar. She brought the noble young ladies and women to the throne hall. She sat high on the Iron Throne, overlooking the women below like sparrows. Grand Maester Pycelle quietly handed her a glass bottle: "Queen Mother, this is what you asked me to prepare, but I don't recommend you use it."
Cersei said proudly: "Grand Maester, this is none of your business, step back! I am the Queen Regent, and also the birth mother of His Majesty the King. I am also a Lannister, and I have my pride." In fact, Cersei had secretly made arrangements, and Tommen had been quietly sent to Rosby. Even if King's Landing fell, and he and Joffrey could not survive, Tywin would find Tommen in the future, and the Lannisters would still control the orthodox righteousness!
"Boom boom~ boom boom~!"
"Boom~ boom boom." Accompanied by the passionate battle, the first to launch was the King's Gate. The soldiers under Roland Storm's command were the most complete force. Including the routed soldiers who retreated here yesterday, there were nearly seven thousand troops. Their opponent was Commander of the City Watch, Jacelyn Bywater, and his two thousand eight hundred gold cloaks.