Eagle of the Valley of Ice and Fire

Chapter 6 Longbow Hall Rebellion (1)

Sir Yohn Royce acquiesced to Weimar's move to follow Attis. He led the remaining hundreds of troops in Runestone City to follow Attis, and called his two sons to join him and go to war in the name of Attis.

Attis sorted out the contents of the letter, which made him unable to calm down.

The most important point in the letter was that the old Earl Ian Hunter, who had been in charge of the Longbow Hall for nearly 60 years, died. He did not die of a sudden illness, but according to what his father confirmed in the letter, he was the eldest son of Ian Hunter. Jerwood Hunter murdered the old earl with poison. Not only that, Jerwood also imprisoned his youngest brother Harlan Hunter. If the prison guard who guarded the prison was not loyal to the old earl, this information would not have leaked out of Longbow Hall. .

The youngest son Harlan, with the help of the prison guard, spread the news that Jerwood Hunter poisoned the old earl, and even told his father that the easy entry of the bandits into the valley was not the help of the Ironborn, but the traitor Jerwood's relaxation. The Five Fingers Peninsula should be heavily guarded.

The purpose of hiring pirates to invade the valley is simply to force the brave second son who is good at commanding to lead his troops to leave the Longbow Hall, that is, Eustace Hunter who led the cavalry to search for the bandits, so that the entire Longbow Hall will be in danger. Under the control of the traitor Jerwood.

He claimed that he saw countless gangsters occupying the inside and outside of the castle, and all the female family members in the castle suffered misfortune.

The father was extremely convinced of this, and he did not think that Harlan would lie, because the old Earl Hunter's doting on his young son was well-known throughout the valley.He said that after careful consideration, he decided to lead his troops to Longbow Hall to deliver justice.

The letter mentioned that Harlan asked the jailer to send the letter directly to King's Landing, but the jailer said that he could not command the ravens like the maester, and the scope of delivering the letter was limited to the valley. In desperation, Harlan had no choice but to ask the jailer to deliver the letter to the eagle. Nest City.

"One more strange thing." Attis thought to himself. The youngest son of the Hunter family did not ask to give the letter to Nestor Royce, the High Steward of Arryn Valley, nor did he send the letter to Runestone City. , telling him that the heir to the valley was handed over to the Eagle's Nest City, which was managed only by bachelors.

What's even more strange is that although his father did not explicitly state the reason for letting him lead the army in the letter, it was just for him to uphold justice and establish honor.But for such a major event, which concerns the prominent nobles of the valley, one cannot order oneself to go on an expedition just because he wants to gain some prestige and honor, even though Lord Yohn is the real commander.

Attis himself felt that the most appropriate approach was to send troops from the Gates of the Moon and Runestone City from the land, clearing the road of Arryn Valley from banditry and rendezvous with Eustace, the second son of the Hunter family who went on an expedition, and crossing the bright moon on the other side. Mountains, attacking Longbow Hall from the flanks.

At the same time, Seagull Town sent a fleet to blockade the Five Fingers Peninsula. It would be best if King's Landing could also send a fleet.

This is a major event of aristocratic rebellion. Jerwood, who committed parricide and broke the oath, has everything. Not to mention that the Five Fingers Peninsula is an important barrier to prevent invasion from the other side of the narrow sea. As the local leading family, the Hunter family and the Longbow Hall Order cannot be lost.

In other words, even if he leads his own troops, he will still need the help of the chief steward Nestor and the naval fleet to be able to do it properly.

This worry was mainly due to the fact that his father's letter did not mention the back-up force or the second echelon of reinforcements. It seemed that he just wanted to establish his prestige in front of the valley princes by being able to tell the inside story at a glance.

Jon walked up to Attis. He seemed to see Attis' doubts, so he reached out and took Attis's horse rein and said, "It's your first time to go out with the army. Are you nervous?".

Attis shook his head. He focused more on the politics of the Valley and the Seven Kingdoms.

"Good boy, you will be a good lord." Jon looked at him with admiration, and then said as if to explain Attis's doubts, "My good relative Nestor has fallen into a bad situation.".

"Grand Steward?" Attis asked.

"Yes." Half of Jon's thin face was illuminated by the sun. "The youngest son of the Hunter family mentioned in the letter sent to the Eagle's Nest that he often found him with his traitor brother Jerwood in his room. Correspondence from Nestor Royce at the Gates of the Moon, so he did not trust the High Steward of Arryn Vale, nor Royce at Runestone City.

It was also because of this that the maester from the Eyrie did not send the letter to the closer Nestor, but directly to King's Landing. ".

Attis did not expect this, but he listened quietly.

"Your father, my Lord Arryn, said in his letter to me that the Hunter boy was too scared, leading to suspicion." Jon said with a chuckle, with a trace of disdain on his lips.

"The right idea." Attis admired his father in his heart.

"But Duke Arryn told me that he did not tell Nestor the content of the letter. He hoped that I would help you put down the rebellion before discussing it. This obviously trusts me more than him." Jon said angrily, "But he It is simply unbelievable that Nestor was given the identity of High Steward of Arryn Valley before."

For some reason, Lord Yohn seemed to like complaining about his father in front of him, and he was quite sensitive. Attis changed the topic, "How many rebels are entrenched in Longbow Hall?".

"Even if you include the unorganized pirates, there will not be more than five hundred." Jon seemed not to care about the war in front of him. "When our armies meet in the Erin Valley, there will be nearly eight hundred soldiers. This is not a big battle, Attis."

"It's a good thing they're together, these gangsters." Attis said softly.

"Smart, I'm afraid they'll all run into the Mingyue Mountains." John sped up his horse and moved forward to order the army to increase their marching speed.

When Weimar saw Jon walking away, he rode up to him and asked, "Why does father look unhappy all day long?" He looked at the retreating figure in front of him and asked in confusion.

"Probably, he's too proud." Attis couldn't help but want to laugh, and Weimar's surprised eyes looked particularly funny.

"Have Adam brought it?" Attis asked.

Weimar pointed to the backpack on the horse and said softly, "It's inside. I'm afraid its sharp claws will tear the bag to pieces."

Attis seemed to be able to feel the soft moan of the lynx Adam, and the sense of security in his heart suddenly improved a lot, "As long as it is by my side, no sword can be faster than me.".

The cavalry horses in the valley trampled on the wild grass in the valley. The grass crawled on the ground, surrendering to the power of force. Dust burst into his nostrils. After walking for a while, Attis's own chainmail was already covered with dust.

The road ahead was a little blurry as the dust rose, and the surrounding dust made Attis feel calmer.

The words "small-scale war" came into Attis's mind, and he carefully tried to figure out his father's intention. His father obviously intended to arrange for only Runestone City to send troops, and kept the scale to a minimum. It seemed that he did not want the news of the troops to be leaked.

The special terrain of the valley is indeed suitable for hiding information. The team always marches along the mountain road. Because of the mountain clans and banditry, few people will venture into the mountain road unless they are desperate mercenary knights.

Why don't you want the news to be leaked?Attis gently stroked the sword on his waist and looked at Weimar, who was waving his hands to drive away the dust.

"Nestor." Attis found out the answer. His father had doubts about Nestor. This was the only explanation. I'm afraid Sir Royce also mentioned this in his letter, otherwise his reaction would not be so big. .

But Nestor has managed the valley conscientiously for many years, so his father who is far away in King's Landing should trust him the most.

Artis couldn't figure out why. Although the youngest son of the Hunter family explained the situation, he still didn't fully understand it, so he had to accept the facts first.

Marching day and night, the men and horses were tired. Attis was unwilling to risk going out of sight of his own soldiers, but sometimes he would quietly let Adam the lynx out, knowing that Adam would be found by himself early the next morning.

Not long after entering the Arryn Valley, the armies assembled by Eustace, the famous cavalry commander of the Hunter family, and Anda and Robert, the two sons of Jon Royce, had already found their own team.Eustace Hunter knelt on one knee in front of Attis. He was nearly forty years old, wearing heavy armor, a spear hanging diagonally on his back, holding a sword tightly in his right hand, and his face had obviously not been taken care of for a long time. The bearded man stood out without any manners.Attis noticed that there was also a bag of short spears strapped to the side of his horse.

"Lord Aylin, Eustace of the Hunter family salutes you." Eustace frowned and sighed, "The Hunter family has brought shame to the valley." After speaking, he lowered his head.

Attis quickly stepped forward to persuade him, "It doesn't have to be like this, Sir Eustace." He felt the kneeling Sir's deep sense of shame and honor. "The honor of the Hunter family is related to the real knights. The traitors who broke the oath have no right to involve the honor of the Hunter family." Attis said solemnly.

Eustace seemed to have no shame in going to see the heir of the valley again. He just thanked him quickly and withdrew, keeping his head lowered.

Attis originally wanted to continue communicating with him, but he did not force himself to do so. He just kept a smile on his face along the way and tried his best to take care of the cavalry commander's mood.

Another night came, the tents were simply erected on the hill, and the gathering of eight hundred valley soldiers was not large. The noise of the campfire at night could be clearly heard in the dead of night.

Attis was lying on the velvet bed in the tent. This was a privilege he enjoyed as the eldest son of Aelin. The blue-robed personal guards were on both sides of his tent. If anything happened, reinforcements would be there immediately.Through the swaying door of the tent, the eagle flag of the Aylin family hung in the air in the distance. Beside the flag sat soldiers who were simply resting. They were not nervous, and were even joking in a low voice.

Adam was once again let go into the forest, causing Weimar to complain, but the blue robe was protecting him, so he was not worried.

This confidence was quickly shattered by howls.

Tent after tent in the distance were ruthlessly overthrown, and the sleeping valley soldiers were instantly stabbed through the heart with a sharp knife. "Someone is attacking the camp!", warning sounds came from all around, and the sound of horns also came to mind. Unlike the marching horn, it was urgent and like Drums.

The arrow cut a trace from the night sky like a meteor and hit the thigh of the Valley soldier. Ignoring his wailing, the surrounding Valley knights raised their steel swords, "For Aelin!" "For Runestone City!" For the valley” endless shouts burst through the camp.

His blue-robed guards quickly protected his tent. Attis wore light armor, raised his sword, and looked calmly at the enemy who was attacking him.

Most of the enemies wore horned leather helmets, with a whole piece of animal skin draped on their backs. Stone axes and hammers were the weapons most of them used. A few short warriors held daggers in their hands.

"It's the damn Alpine clan!" Weimar shouted not far away. He raised his sword and faced a clan warrior, struggling to respond to the opponent's attack. There was obviously a contrast in strength.

Seeing this, Attis drew his sword and said in a deep voice: "Knights of Aylin, fight with me." The blue robes around him shouted "For the Valley!" and protected Attis's left and right in a layered manner.

A short clan warrior blocked Blue Robe's broad sword head-on. He lowered his center of gravity and hit the foot of Blue Robe that he didn't pay attention to with the stone ax. Blue Robe was in a mess, and his helmet was thrown several meters away by another axe.

Attis's long sword withstood another ax blow that was about to become a fatal blow, saving the blue-robed man. He skillfully used the sword blade to separate the space from the clan warriors, and cut across with all his strength. His flesh and blood suddenly burst open in front of Attis' eyes.

Seeing this, the blue robes no longer care about their hands and feet. The space opened up instantly, and the training advantage of the guards was instantly revealed. Most of the warriors of the Alpine clan were faced with the flanking attacks of the two blue robes. The distance between the warriors also widened, and the situation became clear. Many died in battle.

Attis once again overthrew a mountain clan, sealed his throat with a sword, and blood shot out like arrows, splattering on his mail armor.

Weimar lost his sword and was using his shield to resist the attacks of several people around him. Attis took the opportunity to step forward and swept his sword across. Then he used Weimar's shield to block several attacks with axes. Weimar used his shield to fiercely attack him. After hitting the clan's head, Attis jumped up and used his sword to hit the clan's lower body. There were streaks of blood, and the clan warriors lay dead at their feet.

The short dagger penetrated the gap exposed by the Valley Knight's face like a ghost, "Ah!", his wail resounded in Attis's ears, the enemy walked in front of him, and sprinkled a handful of sand into his eyes with his left hand. Dust, the dagger suddenly stabbed his throat.

In an instant, Attis raised his head with his sword. When he opened his eyes again, the opponent was split in half by him, his intestines flowed out to the ground like a snake, and the dagger flew out.

The sound of whistles was heard among the mountain clans, and they began to run farther up the hillside.The valley cavalry blocked their way with their spears, "Charge!" Eustace waved his sword in front, and the valley cavalry quickly followed behind. As soon as the war horse touched the human body of the mountain clan, the flying corpses became the night sky. In a flash, the attacking Alpine clan was almost completely wiped out. The remaining clan warriors who survived under the horse's hooves were nailed with spears. Their eyes, throats and even foreheads were mercilessly tortured by the spears. In Attis's eyes, this scene was like a bright light. So dazzling.

"There are many pirates here, Attis." Weimar, covered in blood and dust, came over. He found his sword and struck a blow at the enemy who was lying and wailing.

"I can see clearly, Weimar." Attis leaned against the hilt of the sword. He had no feeling at all about the first murder, and his heart was as calm as a river.

Eustace ran over to apologize, and he felt even more regretful, "We ignored the mountain road we came from, and the scouts did not investigate back. This was a low-level mistake. Lord Aylin, I am sorry."

"It is indeed a low-level mistake." Attis muttered in his heart, "But this is my army. I have no organization and no command." Attis thought to himself.

"It's not your fault, Sir." Attis decisively admitted his mistake.The sounds of the bonfire reappeared, and a soldier was staying silently next to the man lying on the ground without saying a word. The fire burned his face, which seemed to be as big as himself.

Attis walked up to the dying Valley soldier, squatted in front of him, and held his hand in his. The soldier's face was torn and his bones were exposed to the Seven Gods.Attis gently held the soldier's chin with his other hand. "I will avenge you, I swear." Attis whispered.

The surrounding valley soldiers slowly gathered around, and the tired soldiers who sat down slowly stood up. They stared at the young Attis in front of them. The curtain of night surrounded them, and a quiet atmosphere filled the air. Attis stood up. He stood up and faced the soldiers. This night sky needed an orator.

"Actually, this is my first time to kill someone." Attis's face was as calm as water, his eyes were sad and firm.The soldier looked at him, Eustace looked at him seriously, and Weimar clenched his fists.

"I must perform well." Attis emphasized in his mind.

"It was the first time I saw my brother die, the first time I saw the miserable wounds, the first time I ate the dusty dry biscuits and the first time I drank the bitter march water." Attis said forcefully.

"This sword is sharp and fancy, just like the arrogant little eagle of Aelin before." Attis raised the sword, which was soaked with blood.

"And now it is licking the blood of its enemies." A voice came from the crowd, it was Weimar, which caused the soldiers to nod in agreement.

Attis continued, "When I called my father a lot of titles, I never knew what 'guardian' meant, nor did I know the honor contained in it." Attis walked back to the dead soldier.

"But now, I know the secret." Attis pointed at the dead soldier, "He brought this 'guardian'." Attis raised his sword forward and slowly swept across all the soldiers, "Yes What you have brought is brought by the thousands of warriors in the valley who are willing to sacrifice their lives for glory. You are the full meaning of the guardianship of the valley. The name of the guardian of the Aylin family is forged by your iron swords and helmets, Aylin. The glory of the family also comes from you."

Attis became more and more excited, and he waved his sword forward, "I, Attis of the Arryn family, swear under the gaze of the old and new gods that I will avenge the brothers who guard the valley, kill the invading enemies, and punish those who betrayed me." I will not let him go, regardless of whether he is a commoner, a knight, or a noble."

Some of the soldiers around were surprised to see this scene. They all knew what it meant to swear in front of the gods.Eustace drew his sword and shouted, "Attis Arryn!"

Weimar waved his sword vigorously, "Attis!", the soldiers in the valley picked up their weapons one after another, beating their armor, and the sound of "Bang! Bang! Bang!" in the camp resounded through the night sky, "Attis! Attis! Tis! Attis!", his name was shouted out rhythmically, the trees were solemn in the wind, the leaves rustled, the bright moon and stars reflected in the night sky, and the gods seemed to be watching here.

Attis had a sleepless night.








(End of this chapter)