Chapter 317 Border Lord
More than two thousand casual troops from the border slowly approached the territory of Storm's End. They did not even plunder villages along the way. Instead, they chose to send several scouts to various lords' manors to borrow food in the name of the Iron Throne.
They are not willing to commit anything that violates the laws of the Iron Throne when the Iron Throne and Harrenhal's attitude towards them is unclear. Being cautious and cautious is the choice of the border lords.
The borderlands were in ruins, and only three to five hundred people from the Lords of Nightsong City were present. The troops assembled by Black Harbor and Harvest Hall exceeded this number, but in total they could only have a team of more than two thousand people.
No lord was interested in recapturing the legendary castle of Storm's End, whose towering shadow and towering walls were enough to daunt almost every army in the known world.
Siege rather than attack, this was the consensus reached by all the lords of the Marches before Ser Barristan Selmy, Captain of the Kingsguard, arrived here to assume command.
But in reality, the execution was mediocre. Only Beric Dondarrion of Blackport City led his cavalry to survey the terrain around Storm's End day and night, and tried to place overt and hidden sentries along the hills and roads extending in all directions to prevent the defenders of Storm's End from attacking. Easily break through.
But this is actually in vain. There are still many ships and sails hidden in Storm's End, and although the lords of Tarth are loyal to the Iron Throne, they have always been ambiguous about Storm's End. The defenders inside really want to escape. , without a navy, there is no way to encircle it, so the enthusiasm of the border lords is very low.
The Earl of Nightsong City, Bryce Cullen, stood on the sloping rock formations at the junction of the hills and farmland, leaning on his sword. His attendants planted the nightingale flag of the Cullen family in the soft soil not far from the front, and then The wind fluttered like a large number of nightingales flapping their wings and flying over the rock formations.
The bards accompanying the army were singing next to the Earl of Nightsong City.
Beric Dondarrion came with the army, jumped down from the saddle, held the short spear on it, and stroked the hair of the March horse, over and over again to comfort him.
The army of Earl Astan Selmy of Harvest Hall rushed here from the King's Road. There was no resistance from any force on the way, not even the bandits were seen.
He brought almost the entire army of the Selmy family, leaving only four or five personal guards to guard the Harvest Hall.
"It exactly corresponds to the motto of the Cullen family," Astan said, looking at the lonely figure of Bryce Cullen on the rock formation, "'Sweet as a song'. It seems that their ancestors like to listen to minstrels singing."
Berry shook his head and led the horse towards Earl Cullen. "All the knights in the frontier are like this, chanting war songs and waving long swords in the name of warriors."
"What song is he singing? It sounds very sad." Astan Selmy listened to this sad tune, took off the wine bag from his waist, poured a sip into his mouth, moistened his chapped lips, and stretched out his hand Go to the back, pull the cloak in front of you and wrap your cold hands.
"A sad song," Bryce Cullen responded shortly.
Astan squeezed his hands in his cloak twice and made no sound.
The minstrel took the initiative to stop, "I came from the north and traveled all the way. There, an illegitimate child was executed. He was tied to a tree stump, and his flesh was blurred by the crow's beak. This is a song about him."
"Don't stop," Bryce Cullen warned.
"Go on." Astan seemed to still have something to say.
The singer looked at the two of them carefully and chose to speak emotionally while playing the harp:
"There was a boy who was miserable. He was guilty of being an illegitimate child. His stomach was rumbled by hunger in troubled times. He ran to the village to steal. He was caught and tried by the villagers. He was tied to a tree stump and was pecked to death by black birds~"
"What was his name?" Beric Dondarrion chose to respect the dead man and at least know his name.
"Edric Storm~" the singer drawled on the last word.
Arstan Selmy looked at Beric uneasily, "I remember that King Robert had an illegitimate son at Storm's End, with the same name as this boy."
"That's him," Bryce Cullen said, his orange cloak fluttering behind him. "My personal guard once followed me to Storm's End and met him a few times. He went to explore the village and saw it."
"I didn't see them on the way here." Astan Selmy looked at the map and frowned. He clearly stationed here earlier than the Cullen family. Bryce Cullen smiled, looked up at him, said "I don't blame you" and got up to leave.
Astan was stunned until Bryce Cullen walked away before he said "Damn"
Berry said nothing and caught up with Bryce Cullen, "We have to discuss the march. If we gather too long, something may happen. Winter is here, and the lords here should at least keep food for the winter."
Bryce Cullen shook his head, "We have no idea how many people there are in Storm's End."
"There was no resistance along the way, which shows that the military strength is insufficient." Berry responded.
"Maybe it's a strategy to lure the enemy. Besides," Bryce said as he walked, "even if there are only a hundred people guarding Storm's End, our military strength is still quite insufficient."
"Then we just wait like this? You are the commander-in-chief of the Marches." Beric Dondarrion frowned and asked.
Bryce continued to shake his head, "Do you have any news about Stonehelm City?"
"Earl Swin said that there are bandits in the rainforest territory, and his army needs to suppress the bandits."
"Nonsense," Bryce Cullen denied, "at this time?"
Barry shut his mouth and chose to think in silence.
The scout cavalry came "thumping, thumping, dacking" with mud and dust, and the flags of different families mixed together like a dancing symphony.
The two of them walked through the military camp with their faces covered in dust and entered the temporary command tent.
"The Dornishmen will help us," Beric Dondarrion said as if chewing mole meat that had gone rancid over time. "They may have far more troops than we do."
Bryce Cullen touched his chin and hesitated for a moment, "Except for some furniture being burned, there seems to be no loss of anything in Night Song City."
"There are innocent citizens on your farm," Berry reminded.
"The Dornish people are not allowed to set foot in the Borderlands, let alone Storm's End? This is the heart of the Stormlands, and I'm afraid even the grasshoppers underfoot will not allow this to happen," Bryce Cullen analyzed, "But Dornish Castle is the heart of the Stormlands." The benefactor has indeed received the promise of the Iron Throne."
"I'm afraid Attis Arryn doesn't know about the rift. This is normal. As long as we release a few ravens, this matter can be solved." Berry said.
Bryce raised his eyes, a little disbelieving, "The Dornish people offered to help us take Storm's End. This is equivalent to voting for a certificate. It is normal for the Prime Minister to agree."
"Ser Barristan is gathering troops in King's Landing. The king and some people from the valley will join the war, not to mention the princes loyal to the royal family in the Stormlands are also gearing up." Berry wanted to boost morale.
"The Blackwater River was defeated, but not completely. After all the navy was controlled by the Onion Knight and Roland, most of the Stormland army had to be led around," Bryce Cullen said, "Nightsong Two-thirds of the city's army is in the hands of Roland Storm, as well as the Stormland army who is being threatened by him. In this situation, the Lord of Stormland is still thinking about how to survive the winter. "He held on with both hands. At the desk, his tone was calm, not sure whether he was sullen or not.
"We have to wait until Ser Barristan arrives before making a decision?"
"No," Bryce Cullen rejected Beric's proposal, "let's go and persuade them to surrender before the Dornish people do."
(End of chapter)