Chapter 22: -Chapter 21-
Ok guys I have to admit it you really are too strong, in all honesty I didn't think you'd manage to get over 500 power stones this week and you've just proved to me that you can do it by getting over not 200 but 300 power stones in one day.
You're on the right track more than 200 power stones before Sunday.
Sorry for underestimating you (I'm going back to writing new chapters quickly otherwise you'll exhaust my reserves)
Here's the first extra chapter
Happy Reading to you all !
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-Chapter 21-
-POV Rodrik-
The world around me was a symphony of chaos—the cries of soldiers, the clash of weapons, and the metallic scent of blood overwhelmed my senses.
I had rushed to the front line, my shield raised, my sharp blade in hand.
Every move I made was a dance of life and death.
A soldier of Stannis, his face masked with mud and blood, lunged at me with desperate rage. Our swords clashed with incredible force, but with the quickness born of the many combat trainings I shared with Ronnet and the numerous battles I had fought in, I bypassed his guard and slid my blade through his armor, staining it a dark red.
The poor fool who thought he had a chance against me collapsed with a groan of agony. Seeing me at the head of the men, he had probably wanted to kill or capture a noble. Unfortunately for him, in Ronnet's army, we earn our stripes not by our social rank but by our qualities as commanders and fighters.
In this way, every member of the army is an elite fighter forged either by the sweat of our training or by the blood of our enemies.
I fought with ferocity, the vision of my sons always in my mind, with unwavering determination that each soldier I cut down was a step closer to their safety.
Every time I felt my blade pierce the flesh of my enemies, I knew it was one less threat to House Connington and the future of my children.
Quickly observing the battlefield, I noticed a weakness in Stannis's ranks, and the horn sounded at that precise moment. I shouted to the officers, pointing out their areas with a resounding yell:
"Divide! Form two fronts!"
My soldiers responded with precision, and I saw with satisfaction that our lines split, creating a passage between them.
This was the moment. I looked up to see the magnificent sight of our cavalry passing through us, preparing to charge the troops of Stannis that we had stopped, almost routed.
The tension and anticipation in the air were almost palpable as my heart pounded with a deep desire, a desire to ride with them, to be part of this wave of power.
And then, with a roar that seemed to shake the sky itself, they charged.
"A GRIFFIN, A GRIFFIN."
"We've won," I thought, seeing Ronnet in the distance, holding Griffin's Heart atop his gigantic black stallion, galloping straight towards the fleeing Baratheon soldiers... The Bloody Griffin is back.
Like a sharp blade, they cut through the breach we had created, annihilating Stannis's disorganized ranks with brutal force, almost without resistance, and that was all it took for the counter-attack to sound.
I paused for a moment, breathless from the fight, watching with admiration as the unleashed cavalry took down all our enemies. Every soldier, every horse had been trained countless times for this moment; each of them reflected the determination and power of House Connington.
With a satisfied smile, I picked up my sword, ready to continue the fight.
"For glory, for family, for the griffin," I shouted, charging behind the Order of the Red Griffin through the enemy ranks.
"A GRIFFIN, A GRIFFIN," thousands of soldiers around me shouted.
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-POV Ronnet-
As my knights charged with brutal force, I felt a rush of adrenaline thinking of the melee that was so close. I couldn't just watch from the top of the hill. As a leader, my place was at the front lines to give courage and the will to win to my men.
I gripped the reins of my steed and plunged into the chaos.
Upon entering the battle, I was met by the deafening sound of metal against metal, the agonizing screams of the wounded, the pungent smell of fresh blood.
A soldier of Stannis rushed towards me, trying to knock me off my horse, sword raised, face distorted by vengeful rage. Surely he had lost a friend or a family member in this battle, but it didn't matter to me. Without hesitation, I parried his blow with my sword and, taking advantage of his momentum, struck him with the point of my blade through his throat, which opened instantly.
The soldier kneeled, clutching his throat, watching his blood flow, his eyes wide with surprise and horror, unable to stop it, and I continued charging without a second glance.
I felt this drug I had abandoned since taking over House Connington's affairs fill me with warmth, and all the exhaustion and fatigue I had accumulated in recent days vanished instantly.
My power was not limited to slightly improving my physique with each kill but also to removing all "negative buffs" such as fatigue or mental depression. At that moment, I was in a Berserk state without the negative side.
I continued to stab all the soldiers in front of me without questioning, without thinking; I had entered automatic mode, needing no more than three strikes to pierce or cut a man's throat before moving forward to continue my charge.
Five horsemen rushed at me. I parried the first blow with Griffin's Heart while cutting his armpit through the gaps in his armor. A spear appeared out of nowhere, trying to pierce me from the side, but I redirected the blow towards one of the horsemen's horses, which collapsed in the mud, breaking its neck under the violence of the impact, while I slit my opponent's throat.
Barely catching my breath, another opponent approached. It was one of Stannis's close guard knights, dressed in armor adorned with flames, likely in honor of their god.
Our swords met in a series of quick strikes, but I was better and stronger than him. I grabbed the spear I had thrust into the horse and, once withdrawn, planted it in his leg.
He fell from his mount, screaming in pain. I ended his suffering by withdrawing the blade from his leg and plunging it into his throat, replacing his screams with gurgles.
I drew an axe from my weapon belt, embedding it in the neck of the fourth while piercing the breastplate of the last with my Valyrian steel blade.
My axe got stuck in the man's neck, so I left it there. I took my shield to effectively parry attacks and continued my massacre.
After half an hour, my horse, which I had for three years, was dead. Around me, the scene was of indescribable brutality: I saw men torn apart by arrows, others impaled by spears. The cries of agony and desperate calls for help were omnipresent.
A towering warrior, wielding a double axe, approached me, eyes filled with fury, each blow he struck seemed capable of splitting a man in two.
Dodging one of his devastating strikes, I felt the force of the wind as the axe passed dangerously close to my face.
Taking advantage of his imbalance, I plunged my blade into his side, feeling his ribs give way under my strength. He collapsed with a dull groan.
The battlefield was a hell of blood, sweat, and metal, but through the chaos, I saw victory taking shape for House Connington.
I was intoxicated by the smell of combat, each confrontation, each victory strengthening my determination and power.
Finally, as the sun began to decline, I raised my sword, covered in the blood of my enemies, shouting our house's war cry:
"A GRIFFIN, A GRIFFIN!"
Everyone within a kilometer must have heard me, and I blew the horn I carried with all my might.
I felt the battlefield vibrate in response, the sound heralding an imminent victory.
---
-POV 3rd Person-
As chaos reigned, the Tyrell and Connington wings began to stretch, forming a massive fan.
This strategic movement pushed Stannis's troops towards a point of no return, slowly encircling them.
The nameless brutality of the Red Griffin Order's charge... the Bloody Griffin Order had completely shattered the morale of Stannis's army, and everyone fled in the same direction, undoubtedly seeking to escape this hellish battlefield filled with mud and corpses.
Suddenly, a new burst of trumpets sounded at the rear of Stannis's army, like a coup de théâtre: 2,000 cavalrymen burst from the gates of Storm's End, taking Stannis's army completely by surprise.
Caught between Ronnet's charge and this new threat, Stannis's army had nowhere to go.
The battle was fierce, but Ronnet Connington's strategy and power proved insurmountable.
The day belonged to House Connington.