The sky was just beginning to lighten when the Wolf Pack's gray and white banners, like a pack of wolves in full gallop, broke through the slightly chilly morning air.
Gendry had never been happier to smell the sea breeze. After leaving the gunpowder grass manor, the Wolf Pack immediately escorted the slaves transporting four large carts of dried gunpowder grass eastward at a rapid pace, to meet the smuggler fleet at the coastline as planned.
The Wolf Pack usually took the land route from the gunpowder grass manor to Myr, but this time Handsome made a decisive choice to take the sea route through the Disputed Lands. The road from the manor to the coastline was more rugged and difficult, but switching to a ship would be much faster.
However, this group couldn't completely conceal their tracks. The maturation of the gunpowder grass was fixed, and escorting a slave convoy carrying it slowed their progress.
"Four lookouts in front and back of the group!" Handsome ordered, choosing agile and sharp veteran mercenaries. The cavalry was on the sides of the group, with the gunpowder grass transport team in the middle, flanked by infantry and longbowmen. Everyone was armored, with plate armor, black scale armor, and chainmail. Even the slaves had leather armor for protection.
"Someone's there! There are indeed eyes on us from behind the group," the lookout mercenary at the back reported quickly. "The eyes of the bandit mercenaries and runaway slaves have been following us."
"Ready! Old friends!" Gendry touched his mace, thinking.
"To avoid the bandit mercenaries, we chose the sea route to Myr. But it seems we can't escape them after all!" Handsome pondered. "The enemy set an ambush on land and didn't expect us to take the sea route. Once they realize, they'll turn and chase us. Speed up! The faster we go, the better. Only when we're on the ship will we be safe."
"The enemy is several times our number and lurking in the shadows," Handsome said, raising his riding crop and riding his horse to patrol the front and back of the group.
"Are you afraid, brothers?" Handsome asked.
"No fear!"
"Wolf Pack warriors are not afraid of death! What's there to be afraid of? We Northerners never cry and whine like women!"
"Our tactics are very simple: bravery, bravery, and more bravery!" Handsome fist-bumped each mercenary, even the slaves. "Human power is the priority. If necessary, we can abandon some gunpowder grass. As long as we escape with the majority of the goods, that's victory!"
"Winter is coming, the lone wolf dies, the pack survives! If the old and new gods still love us, let's march forward on the bones of those bandits!" Handsome shouted.
"Winter is coming, the lone wolf dies, the pack survives!" The mercenaries of the Wolf Pack shouted with a voice as solid as steel, then continued to move forward like a steel force.
"Kid, later, you and Maester Qyburn will guard the goods in the middle!" Handsome said to Gendry.
"Captain, I want to be an assault hand!" Gendry raised his warhammer. "My warhammer is also eager to drink blood!"
"Good lad!" Handsome patted Gendry on the shoulder and said in a low voice. "The Wolf Pack may be fearless, but the pack needs the little wolves to live. Protect your life well. The families in the Wolf's Den need your protection in the future."
From dawn to noon, the scout knights of the bandit knights followed them, but only from a distance, harassing them with crossbow fire from a distance, then disappearing again. Their arrows couldn't even hit people; it was just a harassment tactic.
"I smell the scent of battle!" Handsome said. "The scouts are just harassing us. When their main force arrives, they will encircle us!"
There was still a distance to the sea, and the terrain in front was gentle hills and plains, perfect for a bloody battle.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The sound of war drums and horns had already begun. The combined forces of the bandit mercenaries and the runaway slaves reappeared behind the Wolf Pack like a dark cloud, on the small hills behind them, looking down from above. Without the high walls and cover of the gunpowder grass manor, this battle would be more urgent and dangerous.
Gendry put on his helmet and iron mask, gripping his mace tightly!
"Leave behind this batch of gunpowder grass! I'll let you go!" Purplebeard shouted.
"The Wolf Pack may not be as reliable as the Golden Company, but at least we won't become bandits and liars like you!" Handsome retorted without hesitation.
"Is that the Meereenese Lion, Lord Badakh? He's the mercenary who killed Rust!" Purplebeard said to the Meereenese man beside him, pointing at Gendry, who was not far behind Handsome.
"Is it the black-haired boy with the iron mask who killed Rust?" The Meereenese gladiator asked Purplebeard. He had a rough accent and spoke in a halting manner.
The Meereenese man saw Gendry, a large man with brown skin, wearing black-red leather armor and holding a spear. He was bald, with a face scarred by intersecting cuts.
"Yes, I'll never forget that mace!" Purplebeard said.
"I will kill him and then eat his heart! Eating the heart of the brave makes a gladiator stronger!" Badakh revealed his covetousness.
"Although Rust wasn't that strong, he had won dozens of fights in the arena. This kid killed Rust, and it's time for me to step in!"
"Should Lord Badakh put on a suit of plate armor? It's too much of a disadvantage to be without armor in comparison!" Purplebeard persuaded.
"Put on such heavy armor? My proudest asset is my speed. A leather armor is enough!" The Meereenese man showed a look of impatience.
Seeing this, Purplebeard didn't say anything more. Meereenese gladiators didn't wear any protection in the arena because the audience wanted to see bloodshed.
"Yes, Lord Badakh! But the magistrate only ordered us to slow down their speed and take back the gunpowder grass when the opportunity arises, not to engage in a full-scale battle with the Wolf Pack!" Purplebeard's steward looked troubled.
"Nov!" The Meereenese man Badakh disdainfully mocked, then raised his spear and charged forward.
"These Meereenese gladiators are all as impulsive as wild boars!" Purplebeard said resentfully, stopping his men from eagerly jumping into action.
"Let the runaway slaves go first!"
"But how do we explain ourselves to the magistrate?" Purplebeard's steward looked like he was eating a bitter melon.
"Explanation? Explanation doesn't mean we die in this meaningless battle. If we're dead, can the gold still be spent? The Wolf Pack is tough. We've delayed them, and that's already considered a mission accomplished. Let the Meereenese and the runaway slaves go and wear them down. See if there's any possibility."
The equipment of the mercenaries was also a mix. Only the Golden Company's equipment was comparable to a regular army. Many mercenary companies had a low rate of armor. In terms of equipment, the bandit mercenaries couldn't compare with the Wolf Pack.
Purplebeard waved his hand, and a group of runaway slaves, in a daze, also began to charge with the Meereenese. Most of the runaway slaves had become worthless bandit mercenaries in the Disputed Lands, but without proper training and nutrition, their combat effectiveness was quite negligible.
"Roar! You masked brat, come out!" The Meereenese gladiator shouted, with his followers cheering and shouting behind him, a mix of runaway slaves.
"Draw bows! Fire!" The arrow maker commanded, and the longbows launched beautiful arcs, then fell one after another. A few unlucky runaway slaves were showered by the arrows, turning both themselves and their horses into pincushions.
Only the cunning Meereenese gladiator managed to dodge the longbow's range. Although his horse fell hard, the Meereenese man charged to the front. Tragically, he was the only one who made it.
"Coward!" The Meereenese man turned to see Purplebeard still on the hill, and said viciously. The bandit mercenaries had no intention of coming down to help.
"Thwip!" Dick the Maker opened his longbow, and the arrow flew as smoothly as it cut through silk, then embedded itself in the Meereenese man's left shoulder, blood seeping from the wound.
"Coward! A coward hiding in a suit of armor!" Badakh shouted, then raised his spear.
Handsome had already rushed up. Badakh's spear was elusive, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, launching attack after attack.
Handsome raised his longsword, but the longsword was not as swift as the spear. A gash was torn across Handsome's face by the spear, and red blood flowed out. But Handsome endured the pain and also slashed a wound on Badakh's arm.
"Die!" Gendry watched Badakh in a frenzy, and the mace whistled as it swung down.
"Coward!" Badakh roared, his spear stabbing at Gendry in an incredible position. Gendry's oak shield blocked the spear's trajectory. Seizing the moment, the mace still mercilessly smashed into Badakh's face.
Maester Qyburn hurried over.
"Throw away a few crates of gunpowder grass! Let's go!" Handsome hastily tended to his wound, then looked at the bandit knights on the hill.