-Chapter 80-
-POV Arion Grandison-
I urged my horse forward through the cries, smoke, and chaos of the town we were sacking.
'They're giving in to savagery,' I thought, noticing the new recruits beginning to excessively brutalize defenseless women.
'We are not animals.'
"Don't brutalize the townsfolk more than necessary. We'll need them to work the fields, so no unnecessary violence," I said to one of my captains, nodding toward his men.
The captain, well aware of the punishments reserved for rapists and those who disobeyed orders, quickly nodded and separated from our column to restore order to the chaos we had unleashed on Ashford.
'He knows how Ronnet deals with those incapable of controlling their base urges,' I thought, observing the man I had personally removed from Ronnet's troops to train as one of my captains.
"The soldiers need rest. We can resume the assault tomorrow. We've been marching for days," proposed Lord Casper Wylde, the lord of Rain House.
'We have no time to lose,' I thought.
I paused for a moment, pretending to consider his words, before shaking my head and saying, "Keep moving forward. We've broken their morale by taking the town; now we'll deliver the final blow."
"We could just as easily resume tomorrow or even after nightfall," said the lord of House Wylde.
'I am determined to take this castle as quickly as needed, no matter how many soldiers we must lose in the process,' I thought, for Ronnet had honored me—a mere commoner—by giving me command of one of his armies and making me a nobleman.
'An honor that none of these vultures would have granted me, and one I will repay a hundredfold until the end of my life,' I thought, even though I couldn't voice what I truly thought of the oh-so-noble Lord of Rain House.
'He has far too many men for me to start a fight with him without reason,' I thought to myself, carefully searching for the right words to reply.
"We have a maximum of two days, but every hour we gain on our initial plan will contribute to greater success," I said, tacitly refusing his suggestion.
"Very well," he said, irritated. He was likely more accustomed to long marches.
'Like Renly's,' I thought, filled with disdain for people like him who had no real understanding of war, only playing at it while believing they knew better than anyone else.
'He should consider himself lucky he wasn't beheaded by Ronnet,' I thought, observing the man who had miraculously survived the Battle of Storm's End and ultimately bent the knee to Ronnet.
'He learned his lesson well,' I thought, as he had recruited more men for his army than any other house, even without knowing where we would strike.
'Probably to atone for taking up arms against us,' I thought before averting my gaze.
A rider came galloping up and shouted, "The castle is empty!"
"How is that possible?" I asked immediately.
"The guards surrendered and said the lord's family escaped with him and his personal guard, composed only of knights, through a secret passage," said the rider, one of the Black Hounds.
"Have you located this passage?" I asked, quickly considering my options and mentally visualizing the region's map and the possible destinations of the Lord of Ashford.
"No, they don't know where it is, but Ser Fredrik is searching the castle," said the Black Hound.
"No, it's pointless. Tell him to stop searching inside and to pursue them outside the castle with his full scouting party. They will clear the way for us as well," I said, not wanting to waste any time.
"Clear the way?!" said Casper Wylde, confused.
"We leave within the hour," I said, deciding to outpace the Lord of Ashford's family. Even if they managed to warn nearby lords before us, we'd still have more than enough time to bring down their castles.
'We have more men. Anyway, for them to gather 10,000 competent soldiers would take more than a week,' I thought, confident that I would have taken Cider Hall well before the week's end.
"We haven't even rested," protested Casper Wylde.
"We'll rest on the road," I said, firmly pulling my reins so my horse turned in a complete circle.
'If Rodrik, Victor, and Samuel succeed… No, when they succeed in capturing the targets Ronnet assigned them, we'll control the entire eastern bank of the Mander,' I thought.
'We'll have all the time we need to secure and clean up the interior lands, as they'll be completely surrounded within the new borders of the Storm Kingdom.'
"On the road to where?" asked Casper Wylde, blocking my path with his horse.
'He's really starting to get on my nerves,' I thought, seconds away from driving my dagger into his throat.
"We must reach Cider Hall before the news spreads. Lord Wylde, keep the 2,000 archers and 500 infantrymen with you to hold Ashford Castle. I'll take the rest of your infantry to continue the war effort," I said, leaving him no choice.
He furrowed his brow slightly before finally nodding, knowing that at the first sign of disobedience, it would be his head on the chopping block.
The lesson Ronnet had taught his younger brother had cowed more than one vulture and solidified his grip on his kingdom.
For if Ronnet was capable of putting his own brother in his place and stripping him of his inheritance, what could he do to his subjects in case of disobedience?
Everyone knew how Ronnet dealt with traitors, but few knew how he handled dissenters.
'In any case, I don't need someone who questions every decision I make out of sheer laziness,' I thought, giving my horse a sharp kick to spur it onward.