Game of Thrones: From a deserter to a high-ranking official

Chapter 103 Cliff Fortress

Upper reaches of the controversial river, cliff fortress.

A mercenary was yawning, his breastplate askew, his helmet tucked under his arm, and he tossed a small wooden plaque to his colleague on guard duty.

"It's time for my shift. I'll take your place," he muttered to his colleague. "Damn it, the Tiger Robe Army is living the high life in Riseland, and what are we doing in this damn little fortress! Staring at these rocky slopes, waiting for the enemy to arrive at who knows when!"

"Isn't that great?" His colleague handed him a blunt-tipped longsword. "We're enjoying a peaceful life, without having to face the crossbow bolts of the Mir and the swords of the Tyrosi."

"Tch, what do you know? Back in Rieslan, they're living the high life, with girls in their arms, drinking Milfirenze, eating lamb, and sleeping soundly in silk blankets! Their enemies are easily defeated! Compared to our life, that's what we call awesome!"

The soldier curled his lip, ignoring his "unambitious" colleague, and then, carrying his blunt-tipped longsword, carried out his routine guard duty.

"Wait a minute, what's that in the distance..." Just as he was feeling drowsy from the sunlight, he suddenly saw a small group of tiny black dots, like ants, on a distant hill.

"What are those? A herd of deer? Or a herd of wild boars?" He was somewhat confused.

If it were wild animals, their superior would probably lead the riders from Cliff Fortress out of the city; they'd be eating wild game tonight.

In this era, hunting was actually a small-scale military exercise, and it also provided an opportunity to obtain wild game and have some meat.

If they encounter ferocious wild animals such as tigers, lions, bears, or wild boars, that would be even better. These would provide plenty of material for future conversations, enough for the generals to boast and brag about at gatherings.

While these soldiers certainly wouldn't have the chance to hunt wild beasts themselves, and they'd be exhausted from hunting, they could at least have some meat at night, which was a pretty good option.

But when he put his hands together, placed them on his forehead and eyes to block the sunlight, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The flag has a white background with a long gray stripe dividing the middle...

This is definitely not the mark of the Tiger Robe Army, nor is it the mark of the surrounding mercenary groups.

They came from the main road closer to Mil, not from the ferry crossing behind...

"Enemy troops! It's the enemy!"

The heavy tolling of the bells rang out from the tower, and the soldiers inside the fortress hurriedly donned their armor and retrieved weapons from the armory.

"Tsk, this fortress is well-positioned. It would have been even better if it hadn't appeared on our only route." Tiberius took out his binoculars, looked at the cliff fortress in the distance, and muttered to himself.

The terrain of Cliff Fortress is extremely treacherous: the west and south sides are turbulent tributaries of the disputed river, forming natural barriers; the north side is a large, impassable swamp; behind the fortress is a towering cliff, cutting off the retreat; only the east side is a relatively flat but sparsely wooded area.

Moreover, there was only one main road at the edge of the woodland, and Tiberius and Jules could not send a detachment to besiege it due to their limited numbers and supplies. Therefore, capturing the cliff fortress became their only option.

"The enemy is coming out!" Tibbie squinted as he watched the gates of Cliff Fortress open, and dozens of cavalrymen and nearly three square formations, or one hundred and twenty infantrymen, filed out of the city gate.

"They're actually willing to go out of the city to fight in the open?" Vito was also somewhat incredulous.

In Vito's eyes, possessing a formidable fortress like Cliff Fortress meant relying on its excellent terrain and stronghold to defend the place, draw the firepower of the White Legion and the Lightning Legion, and wait for reinforcements to arrive so that they could annihilate them all.

In short: Hold firm, and there's a way!

"No, isn't this a bit too strange?" Tiberius frowned, ordering his Dothraki men to retreat quickly, while muttering to himself.

[They just came out like that? Did the Valantis underestimate us?]

"Commander! The Valantis are pursuing Tiberius's light cavalry," Calvin reported to Le from another high vantage point. "The enemy numbers nearly two hundred. If our troops launch a preemptive attack, we can wipe them all out!"

"No." Jules thought for a moment and rejected the suggestion.

"We have too many of them! If we act rashly, they will realize that we don't just have the dozen or so Dothraki cavalrymen that Tiberius used to draw fire. In that case, the enemy might just hide inside the castle like turtles, and we would have to force an attack on Cliff Fortress. That would result in many losses."

"Tell Tiberius to have his lightning regiments wipe out this army!"

Of course, Jules's order was for Tiberius to defeat this overconfident and reckless army, but that did not mean that Jules would only send out Tiberius's blitzkrieg.

Jules assigned Leon, the commander of the light cavalry, and Calvin, the second-in-command of the assault cavalry, to Tiberius. He instructed them to keep an eye on Tiberius and Vito, and not to let them let the enemy escape due to inexperience or underestimation of the enemy.

"Vito, get your archers ready," Tiberius ordered hastily upon seeing his Dothraki men and the Volantis army behind them. "Have them stay in the forest and make no sound! Only fire when they attack our camp!"

"No problem, Tiberius!" Vito grinned, using the lever mechanism to open the crossbow's mechanism and insert a heavy, armor-piercing arrow. "Without my order, none of my crossbowmen will fire a single arrow!"

"Habroy!" Tiberius turned and ordered. "Your men are all battle-hardened veterans, they've seen blood, they're brave and skilled at assaults. I need to hide them in the woods. Once they engage us and retreat, your old blades must quickly slip behind the enemy!"

"What about the cavalry on the other side, buddy?" Habroy asked. "You know, we two-legged creatures can't outrun four!"

"Then forget about them!" Tiberius calmly gave the order. "Then focus all your efforts on killing their infantry! Use spears, daggers, and knives to kill them! Pile them up in the mud!"

"Alright, kid, but let me tell you the truth..." Vito said to Tiberius quite seriously as he helped him put on his armor.

"You should be staying at our ambush point in the forest, not facing the Valantis charge on the open ground with the Lightning Legion! It's extremely dangerous, especially since you only have three hundred men, and not a single heavily armored knight!"

"It's alright!" Tiberius straightened his helmet and spurred his pony out of the woods.

[The soldiers must know that their commander is on their side; otherwise, how can they fight?] Tiberius thought to himself.

Of course, there is another reason...

The "Cold-Blooded One" (Fame: 67%) gains the title bonus: Domination (Advanced).

To be honest, Tiberius was also puzzled. His original title, "Lightning," was very difficult to gain recognition from, while the title "The Cold-blooded One" was growing almost daily!

This title was obtained after the Bloodbath incident, and it's only been two months since then. And what's the result? It's already approaching 67%! Moreover, its title bonus, [Domination], has reached the advanced level.

According to Tiberius's experiments, the aura bonus of [Command] can now cover an army formation of nearly ten thousand men.

This is a truly terrifying number. It means that Tiberius could inject the poison of fear into an army of tens of thousands, and they would obey his orders out of fear.

[Tsk...Am I a cruel, heartless, immoral person who is also fond of killing?] Tiberius thought to himself.

Yes, the reason Tiberius voluntarily joined the front-line battle was that he needed more recognition.

After observing for so long, he finally figured out the underlying logic of the system.

First, the title cannot be something you add yourself; it must be recognized by others.

Secondly, the bonus effects can be upgraded, but only if your corresponding title is extremely famous. Furthermore, you can't interfere too much with this process of gaining fame; you can only let it unfold naturally.

Of course, this doesn't mean that Tiberius had no solutions at all.

It's very simple: do big things, do big things! The more big things you do, the more titles you'll have, the higher the fame of those titles will be, and naturally, the stronger you'll become...

However, he put those thoughts aside for the moment, raised his spear, and pulled down the visor on his helmet.

"Lightning Legion, form ranks!" Tiberius shouted in a hoarse voice.

Upon receiving the order, Dmitri immediately waved his flag. The soldiers of the Lightning Regiment raised their spears, nocked their crossbows, and prepared to meet the enemy.

Because the Valantians have arrived!