Eagle of the Valley of Ice and Fire.

Chapter 287: The Wolf's Strategy

The cavalry marched towards the dawn. The winding Red King's Road was blocked in front of them. Only a fallen signpost, half buried in the snow, pointed the direction alone.

The tall horses of the North trampled on the snow, and the cavalrymen lay low on their horses, with spears, short swords, bows and arrows, daggers and other weapons in full swing. The faded flags appeared light gray in the night, and the dire wolf pattern on them was very light, so unless you had very good eyesight, you might not be able to recognize it. However, the Mormont flag next to it stood out very much, and the green color was eye-catching.

Daisy didn't choose a longsword, a meteor hammer was her favorite.

She pedaled silently, and the horses moved forward slowly and tacitly. The cavalry team gradually dispersed, bypassing the Red King's Ancient Road and marching along the long foothills towards the distant woods.

The second son of the Lacewell family walked at the front of the team. Daisy recalled the accusations made by Greatjon Umber against the Lacewell family. "After all, they were married to the Bolton family. Even if I swear a thousand times in front of the weirwood, I'm afraid I won't trust them!"

But Lord Eddard Stark chose to trust the Lacewell family. After all, the army in the Streamlands was kept quite intact. Not only that, he also allowed Greatjon Umber's troops and Ser Maron Manderly to return to White Harbor together.

Daisy, however, did not trust them. The Dustin family might be the first family to receive the raven letter, and Lady Barbara, who was from the Lacewell family, chose to remain silent. Moreover, as the Great Jon said, the Lacewell family had a marriage relationship with the Boltons, which made it hard for people not to feel fearful. But she did not know how to speak to the Duke.

Daisy looked into the distance, stretched out her arm, and gestured to "dismount."

The scouts dismounted, lowered their postures and walked slowly into the woods.

The woodland was also covered in snow, and the scouts moved as slowly as possible to reduce the sound of their footsteps on the snow.

Daisy closed her ears and listened carefully to the rustling in the air.

His nose moved, and it was clearly the smell left by the extinguished campfire.

She reached to her waist, took out the wine bag, took a sip, moistened her mouth, chewed for a while, and swallowed. Slowly she pushed aside the bushes in front of her and raised the meteor hammer lightly.

"Crack!" Mistakes are inevitable in the dense jungle under the cover of night, and a scout stepped on a branch and broke it.

A tiny sound will become louder in the silence, the atmosphere will suddenly stagnate, and in an instant there will be hurried footsteps and panting.

"Kill!" Daisy rushed out of the bushes and smashed the meteor hammer forward.

"Crack!" The Bolton infantryman was hit right in the face and fell to the ground headfirst. Daisy swung her hammer, always keeping a distance from the shadow in front of her.

Arrows flew all around, and Stark scouts drew their swords, jumped out from all directions, and engaged in a fight with Bolton's infantry.

After a few encounters, the sounds of fighting ceased.

Many of Bolton's soldiers died from stray arrows and swords before they even had time to draw their weapons, and many more died in their sleep.

The second son of the Lacewell family stabbed his sword at the throat of his sleeping enemy, holding the sword tightly and watching him struggle.

"This is the least like vanguard team I have ever seen," the second son said jokingly, looking at the silent enemy and shaking his head, "A child."

Daisy looked over and saw that it was indeed a child, about the same age as the illegitimate son of the Horwood family.

"They must have scattered. Stay alert. There are enemies nearby." Daisy glanced at the second son of the Leswell family and said to the scouts around.

They groped forward for another dozen miles until the morning light rose, illuminating the snow on the ground, and they stopped only after the entire forest had been searched.

Bolton's bodies were piled up, a total of thirty-five. As for the rest, Daisy looked at the rows of footprints in the snow in the distance. Seeing the direction they extended, she turned around and shouted to the soldiers around her, "Cut off the heads and return to the camp!"

"Woo!~" The cheers of the scouts after their meritorious service echoed in the woods again.

After breaking camp, the Stark army continued to advance towards the Lonely Mountain. As the terrain became higher and higher, the army's advance speed slowed down a lot.

The news of Bolton's soldiers and camps was also increasing. Eddard analyzed the intelligence and issued orders one after another. Thousands of soldiers were properly deployed, and many heads were captured and returned. It was becoming more and more common for the army to move forward.

Unconsciously, they had far exceeded their original plan, and Lonely Mountain and the Weeping River seemed to be within their grasp. The huge bear skin was draped over Ed's body, and he took off his thick gloves to feel the temperature of the air.

It's getting colder every day, he thought. But northerners are always prepared for this. Ed looked at his team.

The thick and large soles of the ponies with thick manes left only rows of shallow footprints on the snow. This group of veterans, some with gray hair on their temples, and some young rookies who were new to the battlefield, were all prepared with tightly wrapped furs and lined with boiled leather. Many of them put their old chain mails on the horses' backs and followed the team by holding the reins.

Some people even painted their faces brown and green and carried a lot of branches on their bodies as camouflage.

Eddard, the messenger sent by Roose Bolton, ignored them one by one, drove them away and continued his march.

In fact, he felt deep down that this was not a good idea. Perhaps it would be more efficient to pretend to agree and lure the Boltons over to catch them all in one fell swoop.

But he needs a clear signal to restore the declining reputation of the Stark family. He wants to defeat the rebellious Bolton family and revive the Stark wolf spirit.

The forest of countless masts at the White Harbor Shipyard was a great support for him. When Ed saw this scene from the top of White Harbor City, he was dumbfounded and remained speechless for a long time.

He could only be thankful that even at this point, Manderly remained loyal to Stark and to Winterfell.

Ed turned his head and looked behind him. The mules, horses and bulls that had just been looted from the vassal farms of the Dreadfort were dragging a long line of wagons, and a large number of civilians were pushing carts carrying food, fodder, tents and other supplies. A large number of family members wearing chain mail or even plate armor stayed on both sides of the baggage train.

The Northern Cavalry followed the rear of the team in an orderly manner, reinforcing the main team and baggage train at any time and place.

"Duke!" Roger Lacewell, the eldest son and heir of Earl Lacewell, strode over with a sword in hand.

Ed nodded at him and called his name, "Roger Lacewell."

Rorge nodded, and Ed had to rely on Leswell's cavalry. Most of the latter had been well-rested and had not suffered many losses. The northern war horses provided by the Streamland were also the largest in this Northern Expedition to the Dreadfort, far exceeding the rest of the northern lords. One-third of the drum cavalry behind the baggage train were flying the flag of the Leswell family.

The head of a black horse. No wonder they are famous for their horses.

"The weather is too cold and there is a forest ahead. I suggest we camp here and cut down more trees." Roger pointed to the large forest covered with snow ahead and said to Ed.

Ed nodded thoughtfully and agreed to Roger's proposal, but then asked:
"Has your father, Lord Ryswell, sent any news from the Streamlands about the Ironborn?"

Hearing this, Rorge suddenly became a little excited. "Don't worry, Lord Eddard. My father has personally led the army to build fortifications along the river. They can wipe out the arrogant Ironmen of the Rock Coast at any time. They only have a few hundred people! And Lacewell has an army of more than two thousand people!"

Hundreds of people. Eddard was surprised to hear that. If there were only this many people, the alliance between Bolton and the Iron Race that he had worried about before would become a joke.

"Lord Eddard!" A clear and loud voice came from a distance. It was Daisy Mormont, the warlike she-bear.

A letter was clutched in Daisy's hand. "It's a raven! A raven sent by a herald! From Winterfell!"

Eddard walked over and opened the letter. "Ser Caleb Condon has arrived at Winterfell and is organizing the armies of all parties, preparing to help the Tallhart family recapture Torrhen's Square."

"May the old gods bless you!" Roger smiled, and even the mother bear beside him couldn't hide her smile.

"Spread the news to the entire army and set up camp today." Ed put away the letter, gave the order, and led the horse to the baggage train.

After a while, the cheers of countless people could be heard behind me, loud and continuous, echoing in the snow.

After a night's rest, the rear army will turn to the front army and issue a hasty march order. Ed thought to himself, he estimated the time, if there is no mistake, the fleet of White Harbor will soon reach the Weeping River.

Manderly could also send people to bypass the Last Hearth and Carhor to contact the Umber family and the Karstark family in the north, and attack from the north and south sea routes, making it impossible for Roose Bolton to escape.

(End of this chapter)