"Good," Lady Maege nodded.
"Warriors! Let us sacrifice ourselves for the Stag and the Young Wolf!" Duke Rickard shouted. Northern cavalry on their long-maned warhorses thundered south, followed by Northern Longspear. Their target was Kevan's center. The Northerners brandished their battle-axes, great hammers, and greatswords, roaring as they directly faced the Lannister Longspear formation.
The main Northern force galloped towards Kevan, while another Northern unit, led by Lady Maege, formed a Longspear formation and charged to the left.
Ser Kevan's elite infantry spear formation first engaged Duke Rickard's aging cavalry and infantry. The Northern cavalry, with their distinct armor, feared death even less.
The clash of steel against steel created a symphony of slaughter.
The Lannister Red Cloaks spearmen hid behind their shield wall, most shields painted with the roaring lion of House Lannister, standing ready.
"Thud! Thud!" As soon as the two armies clashed, facing the sharp Longspear, many Northern warhorses were impaled and died on the spot. Many warriors also fell, crushed beneath their warhorses. Some agile warhorses managed to dodge, avoiding the spearheads' sharpness.
But some warhorses were wounded by the Longspear, and they screamed wildly as they charged into the shield wall. Even as Longspear came from all directions, the shield wall collapsed under the weight of the warhorses.
"Kill!" Duke Rickard swept past the shield wall, brandishing his longsword. The longsword was as sharp as a razor, and an unfortunate Red Cloaks spearman fell. All Northern cavalry roared and joined the fray, beginning a frenzied attack, charging towards the center banner's position.
On the other side of the battlefield, Lady Maege's army plunged into the left flank. The left flank was a makeshift group, mostly bewildered novices. Horse archers wearing only leather armor, large numbers of undisciplined Free Riders and wandering warriors, farmers riding plow horses and wielding scythes and rusty swords inherited from their grandfathers, and boys recruited from the alleys of Lannisport who had not completed their training.
Facing the frenzied Northern Army, the left flank was instantly overwhelmed. The Northern Old Wolf yearned for their deaths, stirring up a field of corpses on the left flank.
"Die, old woman," a spearman foolishly charged at Lady Maege, only to be struck in the chest by a swing of her spiked meteor hammer, piercing through armor, leather, muscle, and lung, killing him instantly.
Lady Maege pulled out her warhammer and roared, the limp corpse falling to the ground, feeling a wild blood burning fiercely within her.
The battle turned into a chaotic mess. Lady Maege's troops savagely slaughtered the left flank, while Duke Rickard's elite fist charged fiercely towards the center.
"For Lord Eddard!" Duke Rickard's armored gauntlets were stained with blood. His black scale plate armor was still more effective than chainmail.
In his frenzy, Rickard carved out a bloody path, but the spear formation before him was an insurmountable iron wall. The main House Lannister forces were well-trained, more disciplined than ordinary mercenary Knights.
"For Casterly Rock!" The enemy's heavy cavalry also seized the opportunity to support the collapsing spear formation, intending to encircle Rickard and his men.
Under the bloodbath of the Longspear formation and cavalry charge, Rickard's shock troops had already suffered two-thirds casualties. Although they were still some distance from Kevan's center, it was clear they would not reach it. Large numbers of Longspear soldiers tried to push them back, while Ser Kevan's cavalry and Ser Adam's cavalry from the right were encircling them.
The road was already dyed red with blood, which made the ground muddy, especially since these lands near the crossing were already soft. The Northerners, facing an enemy several times their number and better equipped, still inflicted a terrifying casualty ratio. Where Rickard passed, many red cloaks soldiers' bodies lay scattered.
But Rickard did not retreat. Many Northerners also fell around him, their faces still bleeding, including white-haired elders, destitute homeless people, and a very small number of younger sons from families. He heard the whistling sound of a meteor hammer, and a Lannister Red Cloaks Knight charged at him.
Kevan saw those dying Old Wolf and young men. That they could charge this far was already terrifying, but they simply lacked the numbers.
Hooves thundered, the Red Cloaks Knight shouted: "Old man, today is your day to die."
Rickard laughed, "Child, I never intended to live anyway."
The two fought. The spiked meteor hammer swung above Rickard's head, while Rickard brandished his greatsword.
Sword and meteor hammer clashed. Rickard didn't know how many people he had slaughtered along the way, only that the road felt long. His stamina was slowly fading.
The spiked meteor hammer struck Rickard's head. Rickard's helmet was already deformed, and blood was about to blur his vision. But Rickard endured the pain. When the meteor hammer got stuck in the helmet for a crucial moment, the Red Cloaks Knight's movement slowed slightly as he tried to retrieve his weapon.
"Die!" Rickard pulled out a dagger from his body and plunged it diagonally into the Red Cloaks Knight's armpit connection, which was the weakest point of the armor. The Red Cloaks Knight wailed and screamed. The Red Cloaks dragged Rickard's cloak, pulling him to the ground as well. His death also dragged Duke Rickard's death.
Just as Rickard touched his head, trying to remove his deformed helmet, the Lannister encirclement had completely closed in. Several Longspear were already aimed at him. The spearmen roared and thrust their Longspear from all directions, ending his life.
Rickard felt dizzy, as if he saw a younger version of himself, fighting for Rickard and Lord Eddard.
"Rickard is dead!"
"Rickard of Karhold is dead!" The Lannister taxi soldiers cheered. This desperate House Stark army was truly troublesome.
Although the left flank was a river of blood, Lady Maege heard the chilling sound. Duke Rickard had gloriously chosen to die in battle. Maege looked at her own troops and quickly blew the horn for retreat.
"Swish swish swish!" The Lannister archers once again sent a volley of arrows towards the left flank, raining down a shower of arrows. Many Northern soldiers fell under the relentless barrage.
"Go!" Lady Maege shouted, exhausted. Her muscles ached from the slaughter, her arms sore and painful. Maege quickly led her remaining few hundred soldiers away, leaving only a remnant force.
The horns sounded again. Tywin's reserves poured out, charging down the small hill towards the enemy. Tywin galloped past, surrounded by five hundred Knights, sunlight glinting on spear tips, and the red and gold banners of House Lannister flying overhead.
The direwolf force was destined for destruction, like a butcher carving beef. But, but this victory was destined not to be sweet.
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