The night was silent; it was around three or four in the morning, and dawn would soon break. The bonfires had gradually died down, and everyone resting was tightly wrapped in warm blankets. No one was willing to get up from their warm blankets to add a piece of wood to the bonfire.
The Ironborn soldiers on the city walls, responsible for monitoring the army outside the city, were also curled up from the cold of the swamp in the early morning, constantly stomping their feet and pacing back and forth on the city walls, fearing that if they stopped, their feet would freeze.
The archers in the arrow towers were much better off than the guards on the city walls; bonfires were lit beside them, helping them resist the cold outside the tower. The warm environment also allowed their bodies to completely relax, and a wave of drowsiness slowly spread over them, eventually making them unable to help but close their eyes. Soon, snoring echoed within the tower.
In the darkness, unnoticed by everyone, a pair of vertical pupils swept over them, seemingly searching for a suitable target.
In the camp outside the castle, apart from a portion of guards patrolling back and forth, everyone else seemed to be resting in their tents. But in reality, everyone in the tents was fully armed, sitting on the ground, waiting for orders at any moment. Their equipment was no longer that of cavalry, but rather infantry gear such as leather armor, shields, spears, and shortswords.
Inside Linde's tent, Linde sat quietly alone, his mind connected to Glory, who had infiltrated the castle, sharing vision and issuing commands.
The Ironborn's defense of Karling Bay Castle could be described as very strict. Not only were dozens of guards stationed on the city walls to constantly monitor outside movements, but at least a thousand more people were arranged below the city walls to provide support.
In addition, the three surrounding arrow towers were also equipped with hundreds of archers, ready to attack approaching enemies at any time.
With such a deployment, coupled with the surrounding marshy terrain, even sending tens of thousands of troops to attack would likely find it difficult to breach Karling Bay Castle. No wonder the Northern coalition army had been trapped here for more than ten days, unable to move.
However, even the best arrangements require people to execute them. After more than ten days of security validation, no matter how vigilant these Ironborn were, they would inevitably come to believe that Karling Bay Castle was easy to defend and difficult to attack, unbreachable by tens of thousands, let alone a few thousand. This mindset also caused them all to relax their guard, just as they were now.
Through Glory's special vision, Linde easily found all the obvious and hidden sentries on the city walls. Perhaps it was due to being too relaxed, or perhaps too fatigued, but those hidden sentries, in their relatively warm concealed spots, had all fallen asleep.
Linde unhesitatingly chose these hidden sentries as his first targets, directly issuing an assassination order to Glory.
Upon receiving the order, Glory completely blended into the darkness, silently creeping up to the hidden sentries, easily biting through their necks before the targets could make any sound.
After easily dealing with a dozen hidden sentries, Linde then turned his attention to the obvious sentries.
These guards stood on the city walls, seemingly able to watch out for each other, and there were quite a few soldiers gathered by the bonfires below the city walls. As long as a warning sound was made, support could be obtained, seemingly leaving no opportunity to strike.
But in reality, all this coordination was only possible when they were awake. Now, the cold and fatigue had made them unable to concentrate, each curled up, trying to cling to the last bit of warmth in their bodies, with the remaining bit of attention only used to observe outside movements.
As for their other companions on the city walls, they had long since fallen out of their range of attention, and they did not believe their companions would be in danger, after all, Karling Bay Castle was in their hands.
In this situation, Linde directed Glory to first target those in the shadows of the firelight, allowing them to be silently swallowed by the darkness.
Afterwards, Linde had Glory look for an opportunity to drag the remaining few guards, who were by the braziers, into the darkness. Although some small noises were made during the attack, such as the guards' convulsions before death, no sound could be made because their throats were bitten, so the sleeping Ironborn below the city walls were not alarmed.
After dealing with the guards on the city walls, Linde used the same method to eliminate the archers responsible for vigilance in the arrow towers.
In fact, these archers were even easier to deal with. The quiet outside and the warmth inside the arrow towers completely extinguished their vigilance. They were all leaning against the walls, dozing off, completely unaware of Glory's approach.
After dealing with these vigilant archers, Linde had Glory retrieve some sticks and stakes to block the doors of the rooms where the other archers were resting, to prevent them from running out and causing trouble during the upcoming attack.
After all this was done, driven by Linde, Glory returned to the castle gate and removed the bolts on the gate, but did not open the gate. This was because the gate's pivot pin was severely corroded, and once turned, it would make a sound. Although this sound was not loud and might not be noticed during the day, in the deep silence of the night, this sound would be particularly jarring and would certainly alarm many people.
After completing these tasks, Linde's consciousness withdrew from Glory's body, and he then exited his tent and entered the adjacent command tent.
Nameria and the others were already fully armed and waiting there. He walked to the table in the tent, pointed at the sand table of Karling Bay Castle that Huo Lan had set up during the day, and instructed everyone: "The city gate has been opened. Order the men below to assemble quietly. The First Cavalry Regiment and Second Cavalry Regiment will go in first and deal with the guards along the city wall. The Third Cavalry Regiment and Fourth Cavalry Regiment will attack the nearby barracks. The rest will focus on the castle."
"What about the towers?" Huo Lan asked, puzzled.
Linde waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about the towers. The archers there are trapped in their rooms and won't pose any threat to us. We'll deal with them after we've dealt with everyone else."
Huo Lan did not ask further. He vaguely guessed how Linde had dealt with the guards inside Karling Bay Castle and opened the gate, because just now he had seen Glory, seemingly under control, disappear into the darkness. This situation was very similar to his own possession of lizard-lions.
Therefore, a hint of doubt arose in his mind, wondering if Linde was a Shapeshifter like him, because Linde's current performance was too similar. However, Linde's ability also defied some common sense, and this was where his confusion lay.
For example, when Green Prophets or Shapeshifters possess animals and plants, they usually reduce the amount of metal on their bodies, because metal can interfere with their spirits. Some powerful Green Prophets and Shapeshifters might be able to lessen this interference, even wearing some metal ornaments or weapons without issue. But for Linde to be entirely clad in metal armor and carrying four metal weapons while using a Shapeshifter's possession ability was unprecedented and impossible.
While Huo Lan was wondering what kind of power Linde was using, the personnel in the camp had already been assembled and, led by their respective captains, quickly marched to the main gate of Karling Bay Castle.
After the men of the First Cavalry Regiment fully opened the gate, the warriors surged into Karling Bay Castle, rushing towards their assigned targets.
The Ironborn inside Karling Bay Castle were even more lax than Linde had expected. Perhaps they too greatly trusted the warning capabilities of the guards on the city walls. Although an ear-piercing sound was made when the main gate was pushed open, they did not become alert because of it; instead, they remained deeply asleep.
It wasn't until the cavalry regiments, armed with spears and shields, rushed near them and plunged their spears into their bodies, that they were awakened by the pain and let out screams.
However, the Ironborn who woke up at this moment were already unable to resist. Facing the coordinated shield and spear formation, they had just picked up their weapons and had not yet managed to stand up when several spears were already plunged into their bodies. Some, even if they resisted, only struck the shields twice before being pierced through by spears.
The thousand-plus Ironborn below the city walls had no way to resist and were firmly suppressed against the city walls by the shield and spear formations of the First Cavalry Regiment and Second Cavalry Regiment. Huo Lan also led the archers of Greywater Watch to assist in the attack. The annihilation of these men was only a matter of time.
On the other side, the Ironborn resting in the barracks, though they heard the commotion outside and quickly awoke and grabbed their weapons, had no armor on whatsoever. When the Third Cavalry Regiment and Fourth Cavalry Regiment charged in, facing the spears behind the shields, even with their numerical advantage, they still had no ability to resist. Soon, hundreds were killed by spear thrusts, and the remaining could only flee in all directions.
After entering the castle, Linde, along with Nameria and the remaining men, rushed to the main castle. The guards at the main castle entrance were currently preparing to close the gate, to buy time for the other Ironborn forces inside the castle to prepare.
However, Nameria was a step ahead, swinging her great axe and directly cleaving the two guards pushing the door in half. Linde, who followed closely behind, kicked the door, sending several people behind it flying. Daisy, Jon, and the others then rushed in, their weapons slashing and thrusting at everyone inside who was dressed differently.
Linde also drew his Lost Knight's Greatsword, charging forward, instantly surpassing his subordinates who were in front, and plunged into the Ironborn formation. The Knight's Greatsword in his hand swept across the surrounding people like a guillotine. The sharp blade and powerful sword momentum directly cleaved everything in his path in two, instantly clearing a space around him.
After a few charges and slashes, a gap was opened in the dense Ironborn formation in the main castle hall. Linde shouted loudly to Nameria, "You go capture Victarion; I'll handle things down here."
Nameria also unhesitatingly led her men through the formation Linde had broken open, rushed up the stairs, and charged towards the room where the Ironborn Commander, Harlon Botley, was resting.
In the hall, Linde continued to slay the Ironborn. Whenever Ironborn organized resistance, he would charge over with a swirling slash, eliminating that wave of resistance, and then look for the next target. Soon, the thousand-plus Ironborn gathered in the hall were all killed by him and his men.
At this moment, Nameria, covered in blood, also descended the stairs, carrying a severed head and leading her subordinates.
Linde did not recognize Victarion, so he did not recognize the true identity of the head. After taking the head from Nameria's hand, he threw it to Daisy and said, "Take the head out and persuade them to surrender."
Daisy took the head and immediately ran out. The others, except for a few who were left to clean up the battlefield, also followed Daisy out of the hall to assist the others outside.
"Are you not injured?" Linde asked, looking at Nameria, who was covered in blood, with concern.
"I'm fine, it's all that guy's blood," Nameria shook her head, a look of unfulfilled desire on her face, and said, "That guy was too weak, he could only take one axe from me. It ended too quickly, I had just warmed up. Can such a person be called the Iron Islands' greatest warrior?"
Linde frowned upon hearing this, because he knew Victarion's combat strength should be very strong. Even if Nameria had received his training, combined with her own physique, her strength far exceeded that of ordinary people, but she should not have dealt with Victarion so easily.
Just as Linde was feeling perplexed, Glory emerged from the shadows and walked to Linde's side. Linde set his doubts aside, rubbed Glory's head, and smilingly said to Nameria, "Don't worry, next up is Sea Frontier City. That should be a frontal battle, not as easy as this."
Nameria looked at Linde with suspicion. Although there were far more Ironborn in Sea Frontier City than here, she, who was well aware of Linde's strength, did not believe that dealing with those people would be more difficult than dealing with the ones here.
The battle inside Karling Bay Castle quickly ended. The Ironborn archers in the three arrow towers were all captured without playing any role. Of the remaining Ironborn, only about six hundred surrendered and were captured; all others died in battle. And these six hundred-plus people were all wounded, so how many would ultimately survive was still an unknown.
Linde's side also lost a dozen people, and twenty-odd were injured. Although it was a great victory, Linde was not particularly satisfied, because both the dozen who died and the twenty-odd who were injured were due to carelessness, believing victory was already secured and being counterattacked.
A complete victory that should have had no casualties resulted in losses, which made Linde quite dissatisfied, and he decided in his heart to strengthen training specifically in the future.
Another point of dissatisfaction was that Linde had learned from the captives that the person killed by Nameria was not Victarion; Victarion had already left Karling Bay a few days ago.
"Lord Huo Lan, send someone immediately to inform Duke Eddard that Karling Bay has been cleared. Tell him to come as soon as possible. I still need to relieve the siege of Sea Frontier City and cannot stay here for too long," Linde found Huo Lan and reminded him.
"I understand. I will personally deliver the message to the Duke," Huo Lan immediately walked to an open space, took out a piece of paper, found a wooden stick, dipped it in the blood from a nearby corpse, quickly wrote down the situation of Karling Bay on it, and then stamped his ring seal on it.
Afterwards, he walked to a corner and sat down, his eyes rolling back, and he instantly entered a state of meditation. Soon, a raven descended from the sky, picked up the note he had written earlier, and flew up, heading north.
Linde instructed a few people to guard Huo Lan, to prevent anyone from disturbing him. Then, he and Nameria, along with Glory, searched the castle again to ensure no one had slipped through the cracks.
Although they ultimately found no Ironborn who had slipped through, they did discover two former Karling Bay guards. These two guards had hidden in a secret cellar under the stable for over ten days. Because they had no food, when they were found, they were already on the verge of death from starvation. The archers, also from Greywater Watch, almost didn't recognize them.
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