Chapter 17: Whispers of the Abyss
In the Vale, Gulltown, night was about to descend.
In the largest square near Gulltown's port, torches were lit earlier than usual.
Here, numerous singers gathered, harmonizing a strange new song. The scale of the chorus was unprecedented; the resonant singing voices almost encompassed the entire vicinity of the port. More and more people were drawn by the singing.
Some people started inquiring about the name of the unfamiliar song. It was called "Whispers of the Abyss," and was said to be from Crackclaw Point, located across the Narrow Sea to the south.
As night grew deeper, the crowd, though still reluctant to leave, finally began to disperse. Yet, the singing voices seemed to linger in their ears.
Suddenly, a series of exclamations erupted from the crowd.
To the west of Gulltown, a raging fire shot up to the sky, illuminating half the heavens.
The next day, everyone in Gulltown knew that Merchant Gustaf Mikkos's estate had caught fire, and not a single soul in the entire estate survived.
...
...
Crackclaw Point, Clegane Old Lands Battlefield.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
Shouting uniform slogans, the Wildlings, under the command of House Bolton from Dreadfort, began to advance slowly towards Glyn's formation.
When they were about 200 yards away, Glyn raised his crossbow and, with a 'thwack,' a Knight fell from his horse's back.
Aemilia spurred her horse, moving back and forth in front of the formation, shouting, "Steady! Steady! Await orders!"
Glyn shot a second bolt, and another Knight tumbled from his horse's back, falling into the advancing formation.
After Glyn continuously shot down five Knights, the enemy's mounted warriors directly dismounted, leading their horses into the formation.
At this time, the two sides were separated by more than 200 yards.
After Glyn once again shot down the flag bearer holding House Bolton's banner, he nodded slightly at Aemilia.
"Withdraw!"
"Withdraw!"
"Withdraw!"
Aemilia carried out the order, and under the leadership of the Clegane House soldiers, all the "soldiers" turned and retreated. The direction of retreat was naturally the entrance to Moonfang Valley.
Glyn's movements immediately drew the enemy's attention, and they all quickened their pace of advance.
Everything was proceeding according to Glyn's plan.
Glyn was just about to spur his horse and join the 'retreating' team when a small anomaly appeared.
A figure, round like a rolling ball, suddenly entered the battlefield, bearing a round shield, raising a warhammer, and charging towards House Bolton and the Wildlings' army.
The enemies realized that Glyn and his men were retreating, and in their haste to pursue, their formation was already in chaos.
The charging ball quickly collided with the fastest part of the foot soldiers.
The obese figure, bearing his shield, knocked away two men. His raised warhammer smashed the head of a nearby Wildling.
The ball's movements did not stop; he swung the hammer again and fiercely smashed open the head of another Wildling.
The ball, contrary to his large physique, was extremely agile. His shield blocked all attacks, and the warhammer easily smashed one head after another.
The ball seemed to have the intuition of a wild beast. After killing several people in a row, he already felt something was wrong. He looked towards Glyn's direction during the lulls in the fighting.
"Human!"
"Why is there only one Knight left?"
"I remember a large group was coming? Did I remember wrong?"
The ball finally panicked. Even if he was brave, he couldn't kill them all. The ball began to consciously retreat.
Glyn temporarily judged that the strange fierce man who suddenly entered the battlefield was not an enemy.
Glyn spurred his horse forward, moving and shooting rapidly. The Wildlings near the strange fierce man fell down one after another, shot by Glyn's arrows.
Glyn spotted a Knight spurring his horse to accelerate towards the strange fierce man. With an arrow, Glyn shot him down and loudly called out, "Mount up!"
The fierce man heard Glyn's voice, bore his shield, and directly knocked away an enemy. He ran to the side of the riderless warhorse, and his obese body agilely leaped aboard.
Glyn continued to provide cover fire, shooting arrows in quick succession.
The fierce man spurred his warhorse, approaching Lord Glynn and saying in a muffled voice, "Lord Glynn, your fame is widespread, I have admired your name for... for... I forgot my words!"
"I heard of the conscription order from the Old Clegane Lands. I hoped to be of service to you, but I am a bastard, and I dared not directly pay my respects to you."
"I heard about the battle here, and I want to perform well first, to gain your admiration!"
This was a wild warrior proactively seeking allegiance!
While Glyn spurred his warhorse to retreat, he loudly asked, "Stranger, please tell me your name!"
"Oh, sorry, my apologies, my name is Monton Waters."
As the warhorse galloped, Monton Waters' belly, like a giant watermelon, shook up and down, undulating like flowing water.
Glyn's lips curved slightly, "Welcome, my warrior!"
Hearing Glyn's affirmative reply, Monton Waters' rough voice was actually tinged with a bit of a sob, "You are too good, I sincerely thank you, I swear I will fight for you forever! I... I didn't forget my words this time, I... I... I'll try to eat less!"
"My warrior, eat your fill, eat freely!"
Monton Waters turned his head to look at Glyn's silhouette, and froze.
Monton Waters came back to his senses, slowly raised his head, and his resolute gaze softened into a muffled smile. "The weather is really good today!"
Glyn's first vassal, Monton Waters, has entered the stage.
...
...
It was discovered that the weapons and equipment dropped by Clegane House soldiers on the ground were increasing. House Bolton and the Wildlings, roaring and cursing, rushed into Moonfang Valley.
When all the enemies had entered Moonfang Valley, they were met with fierce fires that suddenly erupted in front and behind them.
The merciless flames surrounded them, and their screams and wails seemed to want to break out of Moonfang Valley.
Although Glyn had made every effort to prepare, time was inherently insufficient, and the heavy rain from the previous few days also had an impact on the fire's intensity.
Still, more than 3,000 people were left permanently in Moonfang Valley.
The remaining enemies had great difficulty breaking out of the valley, and had already lost all their strength. Most of them became Glyn's captives.
...
...
Five days later, near Dreadfort.
"Holy shit!"
On his warhorse, Glyn gazed at Dreadfort, which seemed to tower into the clouds, speechless for a long time.
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