Marco was currently standing on the platform in front of the castle's narrow stairs, preparing to give a pre-battle speech. The warriors converted by the system were fundamentally different from the Rock Tribe warriors.
To prevent them from disobeying orders and disrupting the Marauder Soldiers' battle formation, Marco decided to assign all the unconverted soldiers as archers.
Since the execution of the "Bloody Hands" assassins, Marco had transformed the area in front of the castle into a small square. Both sides' soldiers were now gathered there.
Marco looked at the warriors in front of him and spoke loudly:
"Warriors of Griffon Fortress! Our home is under attack by the enemy, and they are approaching us. Our home is behind us, and we have nowhere to retreat! Tell me! What should we do?"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
The system soldiers' unified shouts drowned out the Rock Tribe warriors' roars, and that powerful confidence deeply infected the clan warriors.
Marco nodded in satisfaction and shouted, "Forward! Let their corpses become the foundation of Griffon Fortress! Kill!"
"Kill!"
The Marauder Soldiers began to advance towards the city gates. Marco had prepared several plans long before the fighting started.
Even though he wasn't a military enthusiast in his previous life, he still understood some basic warfare principles thanks to the information age.
In Marco's view, in the era of cold weapons, when both sides were evenly matched, it was about morale and formation. Of course, an advantage in equipment was also a major factor.
Therefore, he had previously assigned these tribal warriors to the city walls as archers for ranged support.
There were many types of bows on the Westeros Continent: ordinary bows, longbows, recurve bows, and crossbows. The archers under Marco used longbows.
The quality of the bows used by the tribal warriors was very average; some were even made of animal bones.
Marco had once considered cutting down a Weirwood to make longbows, but that night, the Three-Eyed Raven pulled him aside and lectured him all night. Helplessly, he had to abandon this tempting idea.
Although Marco had already mined a certain amount of iron ore, the limitations in materials and fuel meant that it could only meet the consumption of the system soldiers for now.
Many of the tribal warriors were still using obsidian weapons, which wouldn't be a problem if the enemy were White Walkers.
But this time, they were facing the fully armed regular army of The North, which made Marco abandon the idea of a field battle or a sneak attack.
Because a total of three warships had arrived this time, Marco couldn't determine the enemy's exact numbers. Coupled with the crossbowmen and ballistae on the warships, Marco immediately scrapped his plan to intercept them mid-crossing.
After the enemy had assembled, their nearly 700 soldiers also made Marco reconsider a field battle. It was the first time he was going to fight these soldiers from The North.
He couldn't use the combat strength shown in the TV series about the Northern soldiers to deduce the battle, as that would be courting death.
Marco had defeated three Rock Tribe tribes before, achieving victory with fewer numbers, largely because he had subdued the unicorns and used magic. So this time, he couldn't help but be cautious.
Most of Marco's Marauder Soldiers had basically completed their armor modifications. They had added armor to other body parts on top of their original scale armor.
The gauntlets, bracers, greaves, and knee pads – this massive expense had depleted a lot of the supplies in Marco's warehouse.
Fortunately, Skagos Island already had a certain industrial base, or else Marco's inventory likely wouldn't have lasted a year.
When he first arrived in this world, Marco had found a large amount of gold, silver, and food reserves in his castle's warehouse.
At first, he thought those gold items could be used to exchange for system resources. However, he later learned that the system didn't recognize real-world gold as a resource.
The castle warehouse still held various supplies now, including some leather and iron ingots. But in the later consumption, these items were basically depleted.
To give the Marauder Soldiers better protection, Marco had also specially made 100 Tower Shields, just to deal with this battle.
Marco walked up to the top of the city wall. At this time, the Marauder Soldiers had already formed a semi-circular formation at the city gate, and the archers and warriors on the city wall were also in position.
Originally, Driftwood Hall and King's Hall were supposed to send troops over, but Marco had refused, citing the need to defend the clan's fortress. Although the clan warriors were numerous.
But they hadn't received any combat training, and their discipline and morale fluctuated too much to form an effective fighting force.
Moreover, they were Marco's future source of soldiers and couldn't be wasted here.
The Crowl Clan warriors from the abyss fort had lived by raiding for years, so their combat strength and morale were not a problem, but their weapons and equipment were too poor.
Fortunately, Marco didn't expect them to kill the enemy; he only needed them to provide long-range suppression. At this moment, the sound of the enemy's footsteps was getting closer and closer from the southeast.
Marco swallowed hard and turned his gaze in that direction.
——————The Flayed Tower Shield's Dividing Line————————
Two hours ago
Black Eel York was gathering his troops. Although they had been training for a while, many of these soldiers were on a ship for the first time.
After reaching the shore, many soldiers were still out of sorts. To ensure they wouldn't be hindered in the upcoming battle, York had the soldiers rest for another hour.
Before this expedition, York had obtained "Sweet Sleep Flower" from the Dreadfort's scholar to ensure his soldiers maintained sufficient stamina and wouldn't lose their fighting ability due to seasickness.
This was a slow-acting poison that caused painless death. A few small grains could calm the nerves, slow the heartbeat, and suppress seizures, making one calm and strong. A pinch could ensure a night of dreamless sleep, while three pinches would cause death in one's sleep.
York's method was straightforward: he had the soldiers sleep. They adapted to the ship's waves during the day and slept until daybreak at night.
After a few days, many soldiers had adapted to the environment, and seasickness had decreased significantly.
York looked at the assembled troops, then at the sun in the sky. After estimating the time, he roared at his soldiers:
"Soldiers of the Dreadfort, these Skagosi savages disobey the orders of the Lord and have slaughtered our officials, defiling the honor of the House we serve.
Let us send these fellows our 'final greetings,' staining our shields with their blood, and making them atone for their ignorance with death! My blade is still sharp!"
The soldiers roared in response, "Our blades are sharp!"
"Advance!"
This time, York was answered by the synchronized sound of the soldiers' footsteps.
Dominic Bolton, hearing the shouts from afar, was filled with excitement, wanting nothing more than to join them immediately.
But in the end, he restrained himself. First, he was a knight, and only then the heir to his family. Since he had promised to follow orders, Dominic would not go back on his word to the family knights who trusted him.
Meanwhile, at the rear of the main force, the "Bloody Hands" soldiers, armed with various weapons, were also marching in an orderly formation, an atmosphere of killing intent permeating the air.
Black Eel York, looking at the "Bloody Hands" whose momentum was not inferior to his own soldiers, was slightly surprised. The Earl Roose Bolton, whom he served, often boasted about the strength of this unit in front of him.
Over time, York felt somewhat uneasy. He had originally hoped that this expedition would allow him to show off the strength of his soldiers in front of these guys.
It was unexpected that these guys weren't as simple as they appeared. Their marching formation was flawless, their steps perfectly synchronized without any disorder.
Even more terrifying was that they all had emotionless expressions. Some of his own troublemakers had provoked them during a break.
Unexpectedly, these "Bloody Hands" warriors had immediately drawn their blades, nearly causing the soldiers on both sides to come to blows.
Bucktooth Manson, who was by his side, said to him with a smile:
"What do you think, Black Eel? My boys aren't any worse than yours, are they? In some ways, yours might not even measure up to ours!"
York retorted with dissatisfaction, "Hmph! We'll only know for sure on the battlefield. Just don't mess up our formation!"
Bucktooth Manson shook his head and said to York:
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! My brothers have all seen blood, unlike your new recruits!"
"You! Humph! Forget it! Remember what you promised me. I don't want my soldiers eating arrows on the moat!"
"Don't worry! I've already planned everything! This time, I'll make that 'Wizard Lord' never forget it!"
The sound of the horn split the air.
"Woo!"
With the sound of the horn, the Rock Tribe warriors on the city walls began to clamor, causing Marco to frown slightly.
Sas Ting, who was standing beside him, saw this and shouted, "Silence!" (Sas Ting: I'm a bodyguard! Do you think I'm a human loudspeaker? How many times have I yelled this already!)
After seeing the chaotic warriors quiet down, Marco turned to the archer captain, Loren Hawkeye, and said:
"I'm leaving them to your command! Fight when you need to, I don't need soldiers who don't listen!"
"Yes! My Lord!"
The two had just finished speaking when the House Bolton soldiers, in a perfectly formed line, arrived about 200 meters from Griffon Fortress.
At that moment, a clan warrior, feeling nervous, accidentally shot the arrow he was holding.
It was as if he had stirred up a hornet's nest. The action instantly triggered the other warriors, and a dense barrage of arrows rained down on the area about 100 meters from the castle.
The House Bolton soldiers, witnessing this comical scene, burst into laughter. Some even jeered with disdain.
Marco's nose nearly crooked in anger at this sight. He knew these tribal warriors had poor battle awareness, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.
He couldn't help but wonder if the head of House Stark in the past had been overwhelmed by the Rock Tribe's overwhelming numbers. These guys' fighting skills were truly terrible!
Marco decided that after this battle, Bobby Lee (the rebel leader) would be putting them through some serious training. They would have to at least learn to understand orders!
Just as Marco was about to yell at them, two figures emerged from the formation. One carried a Tower Shield in front, while the other cautiously stayed behind, holding up a white flag to signal their desire to talk.
Loren Hawkeye loudly ordered all the clan warriors to lower their bows. Seeing that no soldiers on the city walls had their bows drawn, the two figures advanced a bit closer.
"I am Kaka III of House Bolton! Our commander has instructed me to tell you! If your lord swears fealty to House Bolton, then we will not attack you, otherwise..."
Thud!
A wavering arrow slammed into the flayed man emblem, right in the face. The force of the impact made the shield-bearing soldier take a step back.
"That is our answer!"
Loren Hawkeye roared after firing the arrow from the city gate.
With that, the two soldiers who had come out to negotiate quietly retreated back into their formation. Soon after, the House Bolton soldier formation began to advance slowly.
At the same time, the archers and crossbowmen in the formation began to prepare their attack. The soldiers of House Bolton were arranged in a square formation, with their Tower Shields arranged in an "L" shape to better defend against the arrows.
Once they entered the 100-meter range, Loren Hawkeye immediately ordered the attack. Various arrows rained down from the city walls onto the House Bolton soldier formation.
Although the defense was good, a few unlucky fellows were still hit. After enduring this barrage of arrows, the House Bolton's archers and crossbowmen launched their own attack.
Special crossbow bolts, fired from the hands of the "Bloody Hands" soldiers, whistled towards the city walls. The special glass jars shattered, and the fluorescent green wildfire splashed everywhere.
"Watch out!"
"Crack, crack!"
"Boom, boom!"
Following a series of exclamations and explosions, the two giant hemp ropes connecting the drawbridge were ignited by the green wildfire. Then, they were targeted by concentrated enemy fire, and after three minutes, they snapped.
The massive wooden drawbridge crashed down with a roar, kicking up clouds of dust as House Bolton's soldiers charged towards the Marauder Soldiers.
Just as their vanguard was about to clash with Marco's forces, another massive explosion erupted. The huge gate behind the Marauder Soldiers was engulfed in green wildfire.
"What's going on?"
Marco, watching from the city walls, heard the commotion from the gate below and asked in surprise.
The inner side of the gate was a scene of chaos. Clan warriors, engulfed in flames, ran around desperately. The strange green flames wouldn't extinguish, and soon they were burned alive.
At this moment, Henk ran up to report that a guy wearing Rock Tribe clothing had pushed a cart filled with fire towards the gate.
It appeared to contain wildfire. More than 20 clan warriors near the gate had been killed, and the gate itself was damaged.
"What! How are they still in here? Go organize a rescue immediately! I don't need you here reporting! Your task is to maintain order within the city!"