Game of Thrones: I Created the Magic Web

Chapter 204: The Third Battle of Stone Hedge

The last rays of the setting sun faded.

Only a few dim white lights remained as a transition to the night, illuminating the dim light and shadows of Stone Hedge.

Stone Hedge had prepared for rest.

The town's wooden houses and stone towers each produced black, cyan-gray, and fine white smoke, drifting upwards, imperceptibly merging into the dim sky.

After a busy day, the soldiers and residents were about to enjoy their final supper.

The bonfires and activity outside the town were similarly flourishing.

Clearly, the Riverlands army, numbering ten times the town's population, had not all crammed into the town.

Besides the troops billeted in the town's houses and stationed in the castle, another ten thousand or so were camped in the open around Stone Hedge, both preventing the town from becoming too crowded and serving as a defensive perimeter.

Originally, few people cared about guarding.

As a detached force, from Commander Jon Fossoway to the subordinate knights, everyone understood that they were not the main players in the war.

Stone Hedge was likely to remain peaceful.

This situation secretly relieved some cowards, but greatly disappointed many others.

How did it come to this?

When the lords summoned them to arms, everyone thought it would be another epic war, with massive armies clashing in a grand and memorable battle.

No one thought they would be absent from the stage.

But to everyone's surprise, the enemy's actions were always illogical.

Duke Tywin summoned a large army but remained motionless in the Westerlands. Highgarden had to leave Earl Rowan's troops in Goldengrove to guard against the Westerlands.

On the King's Landing side, King Joffrey first acted willfully and ignored the war, taking almost no countermeasures. Then, he suddenly set sail with the royal fleet, abandoning King's Landing. It was all to attack Storm's End?!

King Renly chose to follow this chaotic pattern. Thus, the Highgarden army was divided again.

Duke Mace and Earl Tarly led the most elite 30,000 men east to join the battle in the Stormlands, likely to end the war in one fell swoop.

Their own 30,000 men were assigned to the rear.

Indeed, the threat from King's Landing had not completely disappeared, and someone needed to guard against the northern enemies and protect the supply lines.

Indeed, information from the north also needed to be gathered.

But ultimately, the center of the war was Storm's End in the east, and future historical records would heavily favor Storm's End, where heroes and achievements would be born.

Stone Hedge, on the other hand, might not see any action at all. Starting abruptly and ending peacefully.

Which ambitious warrior would be willing to accept that?

Fortunately, the army had only been in Stone Hedge for a little over a week, and wine, games, and prostitutes were still enough to soothe their minds and dispel the boredom.

Ser Jon Fossoway also worked hard to adjust the atmosphere, resolve conflicts, and arrange tasks, ensuring that the army maintained a certain level of discipline and combat effectiveness while avoiding further discontent.

Except for those who were sent out, the large contingent of soldiers remaining in Stone Hedge all had tasks to avoid idleness and waste, but they were not too burdensome.

During the day, some patrolled, some slept soundly, some played games, some made music, and some mingled with prostitutes.

At night, some stood guard, some gambled with chips, some stayed awake all night, and some mingled with prostitutes, having affairs with the young women or wives of the town.

Stone Hedge passed these days peacefully yet chaotically.

Until the first batch of scouts returned.

Intelligence work on King's Landing had been effective. This was not surprising.

Although the north was all enemy territory, and merchants and travelers had disappeared due to the war, making communication increasingly difficult.

However, Stone Hedge was only a two-day ride from King's Landing after all.

Even if only the army's scouts and outriders were sent out to reconnoiter, King's Landing could not completely conceal itself.

Stone Hedge therefore learned many things.

But the news made Stone Hedge suddenly serious, even causing a considerable panic. If Ser Jon Fossoway had not noticed in time and blocked the news, who knew what kind of trouble would have occurred.

When the situation finally calmed down, the officers exchanged information in a private meeting.

The latest information came from three days ago.

The King's Landing fleet had resumed freely sailing in the Blackwater Rush. The main battleships occupied all the ports and bridges that could be used for the army's advance, and smaller ships had sailed to the upper reaches, narrower sections of the river.

The exact number of warships was difficult to determine.

But according to scouts, it was at least a similar scale to the royal fleet, and they were operating skillfully, with no major mistakes such as running aground or running aground.

The officers couldn't help but discuss, in disbelief.

Where did so many skilled sailors come from? Operating hundreds of ships would require thousands of people, it couldn't all be newly trained, could it?

The scouts actually said that this was the case.

Although they couldn't sneak into the city, they had heard the truth and seen the reality in the port.

Mature merchant ships and warships would receive batches of new apprentices from the city, with special personnel responsible for teaching skills, testing, and judging whether apprentices were qualified to graduate.

Strangely, the people teaching clearly didn't say much, but the apprentices learned extremely quickly, rarely making mistakes.

In short, the fact was that many ignorant newcomers could transform into qualified junior crew members in just a few days, and could control ships when paired with experienced veterans.

And these newcomers would continue to grow, catching up with their masters at an unimaginable speed.

The officers couldn't help but fall silent.

They had thought the size of the sailors would be the biggest limitation of the royal fleet. But now…

What else could defeat this fleet?

This one piece of news was dangerous enough. But the intelligence reported by the scouts was not over, it was only the beginning.

Countless people passionately described the 'Holy City,' the 'miracles' they had seen with their own eyes—re-growing severed limbs, the Iron Bank's envoys arriving in King's Landing harbor with great fanfare, claiming to congratulate King Joffrey on his accession and coronation, the inexplicable battles, victories, and 'ship-cannons' that people were talking about…

The officers had never felt so uneasy.

Although they couldn't see clearly, the enemy was undoubtedly more dangerous and terrifying. The known threats mixed with unknown speculations, especially making people fear and tremble.

Stone Hedge greatly strengthened patrols, sentries, and scouts, treating vigilance and defense as the top priority.

Fortunately, so far, everything had been peaceful.

But in reality, not finding something doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

People still habitually believe that sentries and scouts will always make noise, whether alive or dead. However, this time it was different.

The 'eyes' sent out by Stone Hedge died very quietly.

Stone Hedge did not know that above the silent earth of the gray sky, a silent army and their warhorses were hidden.

Just on the other side of the hill.

Countless eyes were quietly peeping at Stone Hedge to the west, unsuspecting and gradually settling down.

Stone Hedge, it had been ravaged by war.

Two major battles were named after this town of House Foote.

During the 'Dance of the Dragons,' at the cost of tens of thousands of lives, the entire town, and the chastity of all the women, it obtained the 'First Battle of Stone Hedge'.

Several thousand lives, three dragon knights, and three dragons were exchanged for the 'Second Battle of Stone Hedge'.

It was battered and bruised.

Now it has been rebuilt, but it has once again welcomed the arrival of troops.

Looking at the blurred shadow of Stone Hedge, the restored 'Littlefinger' twirled his beard, smiling wantonly: "Today, it should be the Third Battle of Stone Hedge."

Chaos! Subversion!!

Warm reminder: The website is about to be revised, which may cause the loss of reading progress. Please save "Bookshelf" and "Reading Record" in time (it is recommended to save screenshots). We apologize for the inconvenience!