Bloodbath in the Mud

The green flames illuminated the red figure, adding an aura of otherworldly radiance.

Then, red eyes looked over.

Across the burning river, across the rain of arrows, and across a distance of hundreds of feet, she pinpointed his location with pinpoint accuracy.

She looked at him.

In that instant, a chill ran down Joffrey's spine.

Is she human? Or...?

The answer was quickly revealed.

She is a human being.

Several crossbow bolts pierced her body.

The woman in the red robe didn't utter a sound; she simply fell straight backward and slammed onto the deck with a thud.

Several soldiers rushed forward, raised their shields painted with flaming red hearts, and dragged her into the cabin at the back of the ship.

"Look at the river!" The little devil's scream drew Joffrey's attention back.

Although the fire-bombing ships were detonated prematurely, the wildfire continued to burn on the water.

It drifted downstream, rushing towards the warships that had no time to retreat.

The first ship to be licked was a Reese pirate ship.

The moment the green sap touched the gunwale, it seemed to come alive, instantly engulfing the entire side.

The sailors struggled desperately.

Trying to smother it with a cloak will only cause the cloak to catch fire; trying to slap it with your palm will only cause your palm to burn.

A burly man unzipped his pants, trying to extinguish the flames that had spread to his feet.

As a result, the flames flowed upwards and directly ignited the object.

He plunged headfirst into the water, but the flames continued to burn underwater.

Inhuman screams began to echo across the river.

"Catapults! Keep firing!"

This time, it wasn't a regular cupping jar that popped up.

Green fruit burst forth on the enemy ship's deck, seeping into every crevice.

Rockets followed closely behind.

Starting from the mast, flames climbed down the ropes like countless fiery serpents chasing after fleeing sailors.

"Waaaaah—"

The enemy's bugle call changed its tune.

The warships that had not yet been affected by the wildfire began to retreat desperately, fleeing the burning river area ahead.

Although the attempt to directly kill the enemy with wildfire failed, the burning debris still formed a barrier.

The charred masts leaned precariously out of the water, and the sunken ships blocked the waterway.

Stannis's fleet was unable to penetrate any further.

But the enemy did not give up.

Since the large ship cannot get close, let's unload the small boat.

The oarsmen gritted their teeth and rowed desperately, navigating through death, carrying fully armed soldiers toward the shore.

The first wave of people landed on the riverbank.

They overturned the small boat, holding it above their heads as a shield to protect a battering ram encased in iron below, and advanced towards the Mud Gate.

They carefully navigated the potholes, then stared in disbelief at the sight before them.

A deep trench lies at the foot of the city wall, a wound that King Lands suffered at some unknown time.

After discussion, Joffrey, Ed, and the others unanimously agreed that there was no need to go out of the city to meet the enemy.

After the buildings along the river were cleared away, the residents were mobilized to work day and night, starting from the muddy gate and extending along the city wall, painstakingly digging out this defensive line.

With nowhere to hide, these reckless soldiers had no choice but to huddle under the small boat, caught in a dilemma.

Soon, the second wave of people arrived.

Braving the rain of arrows pouring down from the city walls, they carried planks to be taken from the deck and desperately laid them onto the moat.

Arrows rained down like locusts, and people fell every moment.

But the survivors, stepping over the corpses of their comrades, charged forward without stopping for a moment.

Finally, a crooked path was filled in.

"Thump—thump—thump—"

A heavy thud echoed beneath the city gate.

"Click—"

A crisp sound rang out.

The people below cheered, thinking the bolt had broken, and quickly gathered together.

They rammed into each other with all their might, and the ramming became more and more vigorous.

But for some reason, the gate remained firmly in place.

Because the inside was completely blocked by various wooden boxes, sandbags and stones.

Even if they removed the city gates, they still couldn't get over this new wall, which was even thicker than the original city wall.

Several canisters of wildfire were smashed down from the city wall.

Dozens of burning people rolled and screamed on the ground, like moving torches, before finally curling up into charred corpses.

Stannis's soldiers began to retreat, regrouping outside firing range, exchanging terrified glances.

The third group of people carried long wooden ladders and dispersed from the beach to both sides.

Instead of focusing their attacks on the mud gate, they searched everywhere for places to climb and set up ladders one by one on the city wall.

Finally, the fourth wave of people began their attack.

These are all warriors clad in heavy armor.

But King's Landing's walls are over ten meters high, even higher than those of a typical small castle. Transporting such ladders is already quite difficult, let alone climbing them.

Most people held shields above their heads and moved upwards step by step.

But some are reckless.

A Lisbon man, with a short sword in his mouth, used both his hands and feet to climb upwards with incredible speed.

In the blink of an eye, they were clinging to the battlements.

His face lit up with joy, and he was about to roll over when a long spear that had been prepared beforehand thrust straight out and hit him right in the face.

The spearhead pierced through the eye socket and exited through the back of the head, bringing out a clump of red and white filth.

A corpse fell backward and crashed heavily against the base of the city wall.

Alarms rang everywhere, and messengers began running back and forth.

Ed methodically issued orders, sending troops to support those areas where the walls had been breached.

"Crossbowmen, focus your fire on the escalator!"

Rolling logs and boulders were thrown down, and boiling water and hot oil were poured on them.

Several strong soldiers, armed with axes and levers, overturned the ladders that were not properly secured, one by one.

At this point, Stannis gathered a group of archers and began hurling arrows at the city walls in an attempt to suppress the defenders above.

But the catapult immediately changed its target, and huge stones roared down on the gathering place.

Soon, very few people were willing to climb the wall. The few who managed to climb onto the battlements were stabbed to death by the soldiers who were already prepared.

Stannis's soldiers retreated to a distance once again.

crooked methods are merely embellishments.

Ultimately, what determines victory or defeat is real strength.

An eerie silence fell over the battlefield.

Burning boats crackled on the river, the acrid smell of burning smoke filled the air, and the groans of the wounded drifted intermittently from the walls and below.

Joffrey felt his gloves were soaked with sweat.

"Long live the King!"

"Long live Baratheon!"

"Long live King Joffrey!"

Although the battle was not yet over, the knights began to lead the cheers in order to boost morale.

The sound of a messenger's footsteps came from below the city wall.

"Your Majesty, the situation with the steel gate is not optimistic."

The north side was to be defended by Sir Barristan.

The city gates there were more fortified, and the city walls were higher.

But Stannis had prepared siege engines and siege towers there, and only attacked from both land and sea when everything was ready.

The real battle may have only just begun.

During this brief respite, Joffrey glanced out of the corner of his eye toward the south bank of the Blackwater.

There, the once silent flags began to move.

Renly's army began to move.