"You are Bert Farwell?" Lynd looked down at the somewhat short and stout knight in front of him and asked.
"Yes, My Lord," Bert replied, lowering his head.
Lynd sat on a rock, pointed to another rock nearby, motioning for Bert to sit down as well, and said, "Tell me, what is the purpose of your army?"
Bert looked at Jon, and seeing him nod in reassurance, he sat opposite Lynd, then cautiously replied, "Our orders were to follow behind the Poison Scorpion Society's bandits and await an opportunity."
"What opportunity?" Lynd continued to ask.
"That's unclear. Only Ser Torren Rayford knew, but he is now…" Bert turned to look at the Old Maester, who had been cleaved in two by Lynd, a hint of sadness appearing in his eyes as he said, "He should be unable to speak now."
"Did the Westerlands only send out your army?" Lynd asked again.
"Right now, only our unit," Bert replied.
"You mean there will be other armies from the Westerlands coming later?" Jon couldn't help but interject.
Bert nodded and said, "When I left, I saw several armies gathering, but I don't know if they are being sent this way."
Jon then asked, "How large are the armies?"
Bert looked at his cousin and said, "When I left, the armies that were gathering were similar in size to ours, but they were still gathering. Once they form a complete army, the numbers should be significantly more than our unit."
Lynd frowned. This news was not good for Lynd. If Tywin truly continued to send armies this way, and their numbers were still increasing, then Tywin was not merely testing the waters, but genuinely intended to capture Tumbleton.
Although Lynd was confident he could deal with the bandits here after the recent battle, and also confident he could handle a small contingent of a lord's army, if Tywin used the armies of various nobles from the Westerlands, then he would only be able to retreat.
However, he felt that this possibility was unlikely, because Tumbleton belonged to The Reach after all. If the Westerlands sent out armies in such a grand manner, it would ultimately lead to a war between the Westerlands and the South, which the Iron Throne would absolutely not permit.
Therefore, Tywin's gathering of armies was probably for other matters. Due to a lack of sufficient intelligence, Lynd could not make any effective judgment, which also gave him the idea of establishing an intelligence network, though he was well aware that it was still too early.
Lynd then asked, "How many spies from the Westerlands are among the bandit groups summoned by the Poison Scorpion Society?"
"I'm not very clear about that. Only the Old Maester knew all of that," Bert replied.
Lynd scrutinized Bert and asked, "How did you end up joining this army? With all due respect, My Lord Bert, you don't seem to be skilled in combat."
"House Farwell needed to send a few people to join the army, and I was unlucky enough to be chosen," Bert shrugged helplessly and said, "If I hadn't joined the army this time, I would already be at Oldtown Citadel."
"Are you going to the Citadel to study?" Lynd asked.
Bert answered truthfully, "Yes, I've loved reading since I was a child and wanted to become a Maester."
Hearing Bert's words, Lynd suddenly thought of someone: Samwell Tarly. Their physiques were similar, their personalities alike, and both were extremely interested in knowledge.
"When the matters here are concluded, I will allow you to go to the Citadel to study," Lynd made his decision and said, "However, until then, you can only stay by my side. Bert Farwell is temporarily dead, do you understand?"
Bert knew he wouldn't die, and a happy smile appeared on his face, excitedly thanking Lynd for his mercy repeatedly.
Jon was happy that his cousin would live and went forward to pat him on the shoulder.
Lynd added, "However, I don't keep idle people here. Before you leave, you need to work for me. For now, you and Jon will serve as my Officials!"
Bert was stunned for a moment, then quickly responded, "Yes, My Lord."
Lynd then said, "Oh, you don't seem to know who we are yet. Jon, take him down and introduce our situation, and also tell him what he needs to do."
"Understood, My Lord." Jon heard this, then pulled Bert aside and introduced their situation.
In fact, the moment Bert saw Jon, he already knew that this group of people came from House Tyrell, but he was not clear about Lynd's identity. Even after Jon introduced Lynd's name, he was still bewildered. In his memory, there was no great noble family named Terra.
In fact, he had lost contact with the outside world several months ago, having been constantly with the army, either in the camp or on the road, so he knew nothing of what was happening outside, and even less about Lynd, the legendary figure whose reputation had already spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms.
It wasn't until Jon carefully recounted Lynd's experiences that he truly realized Lynd did not belong to the old noble families he knew, and at the same time, he was surprised by Lynd's luck.
Yes, what surprised Bert was Lynd's luck, not Lynd's strength.
He had read many books, and he had read quite a few legendary stories and biographies of figures from ancient times to the present in the Seven Kingdoms. In none of the books he had read, no matter how exaggeratedly the author praised the protagonist, was it ever so exaggerated as to have a commoner of hunter origin be knighted by the King within a mere few months.
What's more, just after Lynd became a knight, he was qualified to lead troops alone. From the information Jon revealed, it was not difficult to see that House Tyrell valued Lynd extremely highly, even granting him a considerable amount of autonomy, such as being able to recruit soldiers himself and being allowed to expand his forces by a certain amount, and so on.
Such great power was not necessarily held even by the Old Nobles of Highgarden, yet Lynd now possessed it, which made him incredibly curious about Lynd.
Originally, he had regretted not being able to go to the Citadel to study immediately, but now all that regret in his heart had vanished. What could be more interesting than directly observing the rise of a legendary figure than going to the Citadel to study?
The battlefield cleanup was completed very quickly. Everything that could be taken, from the leather armor and clothing on the bodies to the weapons and equipment, was exposed. Only naked corpses remained on the ground.
Upon seeing this scene, Bert couldn't help but say, "My Lord, this is truly undignified. At the very least, they should be left with one piece of clothing."
"I am very poor right now, and I will not let go of any usable resources, and…" Lynd calmly looked at Bert and said, "All mortals must die. Since they came into this world naked, let them leave naked. This is fitting."
After speaking, he ordered Brynden Rivers to lead his First Cavalry Regiment to transport the plundered spoils along with the supplies from the previous logistics team to the Tumbleton stronghold. He, meanwhile, continued to lead the army in pursuit of the bandit alliance ahead.
"My Lord, aren't your men a bit too few? Those bandits number six or seven hundred!" Bryn said with some concern.
"It's enough. They are just bandits, and their courage has been broken. The personal Guards have enough men," Lynd shook his head, then, as if thinking of something, turned to Jon and Bert and said, "You two will stay with Bryn and transport the spoils. You are not needed in the upcoming battle."
"Yes, My Lord," both quickly responded.
"Depart." Lynd looked at the Royal Guards, who were already ready to go, and gave the order.
As the order was given, the recently rested cavalry regiment, led by Lynd, quickly advanced towards Tumbleton, following the tracks left by the bandit alliance ahead.
The marching speed of the team was very fast. Logically, it should have only taken an hour to catch up with the slowly walking bandit alliance ahead.
However, Lynd seemed to be in conflict with the land itself. From the moment he entered this territory, there had been continuous heavy rain, hindering their march. Even now, on the road, they would encounter flash floods appearing from nowhere, forcing them to take detours, wasting several hours. It wasn't until evening that they finally caught up with the bandit alliance.
Now, this location was less than five miles from Tumbleton, with two hills in between. The bandit alliance did not attack Tumbleton overnight, but instead set up camp here to rest and recuperate, eating all their remaining food, preparing for a major assault the next day.
The leaders of these bandits were somewhat capable. Before setting up camp, they knew to send out sentries to the surrounding mountains to prevent surprise attacks.
The unfortunate thing was that the people they sent out were not as diligent and responsible as they had hoped. Days of marching, coupled with food shortages, had already made these men extremely exhausted. After guarding for a while, they all found a place to rest, waiting for the people below to bring food up, and this rest became an eternal rest.
After dealing with these sentries, Lynd stood on the hillside and surveyed the situation below. Although the sky was somewhat dim, he could still clearly see the situation at the foot of the mountain. He saw the bandits sitting scattered on the ground, some even having removed their equipment, completely relaxed and unprepared, just like the previous group.
How could Lynd let such a good opportunity pass? As he led the cavalry down the hillside, the same scene reappeared hours later: the same group of unprepared people, the same similarly shaped valley, the same outcome. The only difference was that he did not annihilate all of these bandits.
It wasn't that he couldn't annihilate these bandits who had completely lost their will to fight, but rather that he needed some mouths, he needed someone to spread the news of his arrival. He needed to instill fear in the bandits and Savage Tribes entrenched in this area, so they would calmly listen to him.
"What a glorious victory! I've been a soldier for House Tyrell for almost ten years, and I've never seen such a clean and decisive battle," Raul panted, wiping blood from his face with his hand, looking at the battlefield, and praising.
"That's because you've seen too few wars," Lynd didn't show too much happiness and said, "These are just some routed troops defeated by Tywin, a disorganized mob. Before they picked up weapons, they were just ordinary farmers and commoners. Although numerous, they have no combat power, even worse than the previous army. They are barely enough to threaten some small villages, but…"
Perhaps feeling it was not worth mentioning, Lynd did not continue, but instead asked, "How many men did we lose?"
"Two dead, eleven wounded," Raul said.
Lynd was stunned for a moment and asked, "Two dead? How did they die?"
Raul said somewhat awkwardly, "A very foolish death. They didn't sit properly in the saddle, fell off, and were trampled to death by the horses behind them."
Lynd was silent for a moment and said, "Remember to intensify training. I hope that in the next battle, there won't be anyone falling off their horse and being trampled to death by their own men."
"Yes, My Lord," Raul bowed.
These bandits had reached their wit's end. Aside from the members of the Poison Scorpion Society who still had some valuable items on them, the others only had their weapons, which had some value, but these weapons needed to be re-melted to be reused.
Although Lynd appeared confident and assured of victory, from Tumbleton onwards, he had no confidence at all in the battles to come, because this was his first time leading an army in battle, not only in this life but also in his previous one.
It wasn't until now that the anxiety in his heart gradually subsided. Everything was developing much better than he had anticipated. His attempt at mounted archery was very effective, although some flaws were exposed in battle, such as the short bow lacking enough power to penetrate shields, and the size of the saddle not being suitable for using both hands.
However, these were technical issues that could be resolved by finding skilled artisans.
The most important issue now was army expansion. His mounted archery tactics needed to reach a certain scale to be truly effective. The offensive power generated by his current hundred-plus men was far from enough. He needed to expand to at least five hundred men to maintain arrow coverage and possess sufficient lethality.
However, suitable recruits were scarce. The Savage Tribes, mountain people, and bandits entrenched here could perhaps be subdued and conscripted, but that was for later. Now, he needed to find a source of recruits that could be immediately conscripted.
"Perhaps those people in the valley…" Lynd's mind conjured up the image of the people in the valley outside Tumbleton. Those people were indeed suitable recruits who could immediately participate in battle after being recruited, but their identities were a big problem. Until their identity issues were resolved, Nymeria Footly could not interact with them, nor could he, as he currently represented House Tyrell.
While Lynd was clearing the battlefield, Bryn's First Cavalry Regiment had already returned to Tumbleton. They passed in front of Tumbleton with cartloads of spoils, transporting them to the ruins of the old castle. Then, pieces of armor and weapons were moved into the temporary warehouse built from the ruins.
"They've already won?" The Old Maester stood on the hillside, looking at the spoils in surprise.
"Something's not right?" Nymeria Footly's eyesight was much better than the Old Maester's. She could clearly see that among the spoils being transported, many pieces of armor were complete, standardized armor, and the weapons were also very fine. They didn't look like the kind of weapons and equipment a group of bandits should have.
"Perhaps we should go ask them…" The Old Maester was about to offer a suggestion when he saw a swift horse rushing down from a nearby hillside, heading towards Tumbleton. "My Lord, it's Vick."
Nymeria, hearing this, immediately ran down the hillside and arrived at the village entrance. Just then, the rider reached her. The moment he saw Nymeria, he dismounted, panting, and said, "My Lord, they're all wiped out! All those bandits have been annihilated."
---
If you can, support me on pa treon:
Pa treon. com/ RightTranslations (No spaces)
Up to 50 chapters ahead.
You can also support by leaving a review