#18Chapter 18: Lure the enemy deep into the territory
Outside Riverrun City, the troops stationed in the north.
Jaime the Kingslayer sat in his tent, surrounded by bannermen loyal to House Lannister.
Unlike most of the vassals who had excited faces, Jaime Lannister looked a little tired. He had won several battles in succession in the eyes of the outside world, but the actual difficulties were not appreciated by outsiders.
One of the vassals, Earl Elans, looked at the map and laughed heartily: "The morale in the city is about to collapse. We can take Riverrun in just three days!"
James also breathed a sigh of relief: "With the victory of Riverrun, the little wolf cubs in the North will never dare to take a step out of the swamp again. The war with the North will be over."
Earl Benfort's face glowed red: "Since the ancient War of Wrath, there has not been such a glorious battle. Sir James single-handedly destroyed the Riverlands. There has not been such a legendary figure for a long time!"
The Lannister bannermen were delighted because they could smell the delicious meat.
Nowadays, the vast and fertile territories in the Riverlands have become ownerless lands due to the war.
Each of them has the opportunity to fight for a piece of the pie for their own family members. War is the art of massacre and the fastest means of expansion.
James didn't speak, but his face showed satisfaction.
As a knight, being able to fight such a battle is enough for him to leave his name in history. This is a great comfort to him who values honor and chivalry.
For the sake of the people of King's Landing, he did not hesitate to bear the infamy of a regicide during the Mad King period. Now he finally has the opportunity to change his reputation, and he is very happy.
Raising the glass of wine, James signaled to all his subordinates.
"Here's to the Lannister."
"Lannister, long live the Westerlands!"
In a joyous atmosphere, the nobles drank from the glasses.
At this moment, an inconspicuous scout soldier broke in, breaking the peaceful atmosphere.
"Lord James, we found enemy cavalry on the northern hillside. They were under the banner of the Tullyfish family."
James didn't take it seriously: "The ridiculous Lakewood sent people to harass us again, thinking that this would delay our attack."
Seeing this, Earl Elans shouted angrily: "How many people are they here?"
The scout sent out before has not returned yet. The scout who came to report had actually just walked out a few steps. He didn't know much about the situation on the other side of the hillside, so he could only speak vaguely.
"It's too dark at night to see clearly. There must be about a dozen cavalry."
Count Elans laughed: "It seems that Lakewood guy has nothing to do. He can only send a dozen people. Lord James, let me take people to get their heads back."
James didn't take this person to heart at all, and didn't even go out of the tent, waving his hand: "Then I'll trouble you."
The soldiers of the Riverlands have been beaten to a pulp by James. Many of them ran away as soon as they saw the lion flag without any intention to fight, so James subconsciously thought that the soldiers of the Riverlands were not worth mentioning.
In addition, he has not received any news from the north, so he has not thought about it in that direction.
Count Elans was full of confidence. He returned to his camp and ordered more than 30 cavalrymen. He followed the scout soldiers who came to report and headed towards the hillside.
The moonlight at night was particularly bright, and Lord Elans saw a few soldiers on horseback standing scattered on the hillside. The leader was holding the fish-bottom flag of the Tully family.
"Hahaha, watch out. The armor they are wearing is for free. Charge with me!"
Count Elans, who had won two consecutive battles, was full of confidence. He raised his horse and whip, brandished the spear in his hand, and rushed towards the group of riverland cavalry.
As expected, the group of riverland cavalry turned around and ran towards the back of the hillside. They seemed to be frightened by the ferocity of Count Elans.
Seeing the enemy fleeing, Count Elans became even more excited. He spurred his horse forward and roared at the soldiers behind him to follow him.
"Give it to me. Whoever kills those weaklings will have his horse and armor of your choice. First come, first served!"
The remaining scout soldier stayed at the foot of the hillside, waiting leisurely for the battle to unfold.
Soon, the sound of weapons clashing and armor rubbing could be heard from the other side of the hillside. Count Elans and his cavalry were yelling and screaming, and the screams were endless.
"It is estimated that the battle will be over in ten minutes, and then we can go back to tell Lord James the good news!"
The scout thought boredly.
Soon, the shouts on the other side of the hillside gradually died down, and the battle seemed to be coming to an end.
To the surprise of the scout soldier, he did not wait for Count Elans to return with a great victory. Instead, he could not believe his eyes.
The previous cavalrymen of the Tully family actually turned back from the other side of the hillside, continued to hold the flag, and stood silently where they had just been.
They were silent and extremely silent, but the scout felt an inexplicable oppression, as if his breathing had stopped.
Where is Lord Ilans?
Where are his cavalry?
Were they all killed?
Not daring to think too much about it, the scout recalled his own job in time. He kicked his spurs vigorously and fled frantically towards James' base camp.
The Tully family cavalry remained motionless. They stood on the hillside like sculptures, letting the scout go back to report the news, their eyes full of indifference.
"What? Count Elans was captured?"
In the tent, Jaime was furious when he heard the news, but he also immediately realized that his opponent this time seemed to be not simple, so he grabbed the armor beside him and dressed in a very short time.
"Let all the horsemen gather, I want to see who has such great ability!"
The three thousand cavalrymen suddenly became agitated, just like a few drops of water were sprinkled into an oil pan, and the whole tent was boiling. Those who led horses, wore armor, and looked for their family heirloom swords were in a mess.
After more than ten minutes, Jaime's three thousand cavalrymen gathered smoothly and followed the Kingslayer to the small hill behind.
After a few steps, Jaime also saw the dozen statue-like cavalrymen. He didn't know the leader, which meant that the other party was not a big nobleman who could be called by name.
Although the other party was different from the Tully family knights he often saw, Jaime still didn't take the other party seriously.
He was still angry and wanted to lead people to charge in person.
Earl Benfort on the side stopped him: "Lord James, you are the commander-in-chief of our army. You are of noble status and cannot be easily moved. Let me go to the battle for you."
James knew that he wanted the horses and armor of those cavalrymen. Since Earl Benfort was determined to monopolize the spoils, let him do as he pleased.
So he agreed to Earl Benfort's request.
Unlike the reckless Earl Elans, Earl Benfort was meticulous. He brought more than a hundred cavalrymen. With a ten-fold difference in troops, even if there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance that he could not beat the opponent, he should be able to retreat unscathed.